Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Josiah Skallerup's LiveJournal:

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Sunday, January 11th, 2009
4:18 pm	2008 In Music In case you didn't know, I think music is pretty swell. Here are my favorites of 2008. 10. We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery Although it's not as hard hitting as their last album, Brain Thrust Mastery is sprinkled with gems that have grown on me throughout the year. I'm glad to have another solid offering from one of my favorite bands. 9. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs I'm sure old school fans would call me crazy, but this is the first album released by Death Cab that has more than one or two songs on it that I really like. What a great year for Mr. Gibbard! First the release of a great album followed by a marriage to Zooey Deschanel. 8. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue It doesn't matter whether she's busy being frontwoman in her band Rilo Kiley or just running solo, Jenny Lewis always manages to deliver amazing alt/indie/country/rock goodness. 7. Vampire Weekend - Self Titled Some albums are fast acting, others long lasting. Vampire Weekend's debut is definitely the former and there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you just want to listen to something really, really catchy. 6. British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music? Do You Like Rock Music proves that the power of the British Sea lies in driving anthems and killer guitar licks. I guess music can be an effective weapon if wielded correctly. 5. TV On The Radio - Dear Science Sure, it isn't as groundbreaking or consistent as Return to Cookie Mountain (nor is the album art as interesting), but Dear Science still contains a whole lot of great music. Anytime a recording that follows an amazing breakthrough album even comes close to the same level of awesome, I am pretty excited. It's not an easy thing to do. 4. Q-Tip - The Renaissance I'm not quite sure if Q-Tip is one of the cooler geeky rappers or one of the geekier cool rappers, but in the end it doesn't matter. As long as he has beats and flow as demonstrated on The Renaissance, he'll always be among the best of both worlds. 3. Ladytron - Velocifero Another album of haunting vocals and synth from this Liverpool quartet makes me glad to be such a Ladytron fanboi. Now if only I could get Helena and Mira to return my calls. 2. The Faint - Faciinatiion Coming to us for the first time from their new homemade studio and label, The Faints new offering Faciinatiion (spelled with the double "i" thanks to a broken keyboard) manages to do just that. 1. Fleet Foxes - Self Titled / Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant It doesn't matter if you've got a copy of the Sun Giant EP or their self titled full length, Fleet Foxes melody rich folk is incredibly beautiful. It is little wonder that they stole the show at this years Pitchfork Festival in Chicago. Make no mistake, 2008 was the year of the Fleet Fox. And now, as a special treat, I've sorted out and packaged up my 100 favorite songs of the year for your listening pleasure. Here they are in four .zip files of 25 songs each. Please enjoy responsibly. Josiah's Top Tracks Of 2008: 1 - 25 Josiah's Top Tracks Of 2008: 26 - 50 Josiah's Top Tracks Of 2008: 51 - 75 Josiah's Top Tracks Of 2008: 76 - 100 1. Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood 2. The Faint - Machine In The Ghost 3. Ladytron - Tomorrow 4. British Sea Power - No Lucifer 5. Death Cab For Cutie - Cath... 6. Vampire Weekend - Bryn 7. Jim Noir - Don't You Worry 8. Natalie Portman's Shaved Head - Confections 9. Lotus - Hammerstrike 10. Cut Copy - Lights And Music 11. Fleet Foxes - Mykonos 12. Ladytron - Ghosts 13. TV On The Radio - Love Dog 14. Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone 15. The Faint - The Geeks Were Right 16. The Hold Steady - Sequestered In Memphis 17. Of Montreal - An Eluardian Instance 18. MGMT - Electric Feel 19. Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal 20. Why? - Song Of The Sad Assassin 21. The Faint - Forever Growing Centipedes 22. My Morning Jacket - I'm Amazed 23. Dr. Dog - The Breeze 24. Fleet Foxes - English House 25. We Are Scientists - After Hours 26. TV On The Radio - Halfway Home 27. Q-Tip - We Fight/We Love 28. Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma 29. British Sea Power - Lights Out For Darker Skies 30. Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire 31. Gnarls Barkley - A Little Better 32. Fleet Foxes - Quiet Houses 33. Death Cab For Cutie - Bixby Canyon Bridge 34. Ratatat - Shempi 35. Moby - Ooh Yeah 36. Q-Tip - Official 37. Jenny Lewis - The Next Messiah 38. Vampire Weekend - A-Punk 39. Mates Of State - Now 40. Beck - Replica 41. British Sea Power - Down On The Ground 42. TV On The Radio - DLZ 43. Q-Tip - Shaka 44. Portishead - Machine Gun 45. The Faint - Psycho 46. We Are Scientists - Impatience 47. Crystal Castles - Good Time 48. Ladytron - Burning Up 49. Gnarls Barkley - Going On 50. Chairlift - Bruises 51. Why? - These Few Presidents 52. Alkaline Trio - Do You Wanna Know 53. Ben Folds - The Frown Song 54. Deerhunter - Nothing Ever Happened 55. Alaska In Winter - Streetgang Pt. 3 56. She & Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? 57. Sebastien Tellier - Kilometer 58. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Boring Fountain 59. Q-Tip - Dance On Glass 60. Dr. Dog - My Friend 61. Crystal Castles - Courtship Dating 62. Why? - The Hollows 63. Hot Chip - Ready For The Floor 64. Lil Wayne - Mr. Carter 65. Islands - Creeper 66. Ben Folds - You Don't Know Me 67. Kleerup - With Every Heartbeat 68. Beck - Gamma Ray 69. M83 - Kim & Jessie 70. Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart 71. The Tallest Man On Earth - I Won't Be Found 72. Jenny Lewis - Jack Killed Mom 73. Kleerup - Chords 74. Santogold - You'll Find A Way [Switch And Sinden Remix] 75. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges 76. The Bug - Poison Dart 77. Coldplay - Yes 78. M83 - We Own The Sky 79. The Black Ghosts - Any Way You Choose To Give It 80. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue 81. Ben Folds - Kylie From Connecticut 82. Scarlett Johansson - Falling Down 83. Kaiser Chiefs - Never Miss A Beat 84. Mates Of State - The Re-Arranger 85. Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes 86. The Hold Steady - One For The Cutters 87. Thee Oh Sees - Block Of Ice 88. Snow Patrol - Lifeboats 89. Ladytron - Black Cat 90. British Sea Power - A Trip Out 91. MGMT - Time To Pretend 92. Gnarls Barkley - Blind Mary 93. Santogold - Shove It 94. Lykke Li - Dance, Dance, Dance 95. Jim Noir - What U Gonna Do 96. Chairlift - Evident Utensil 97. Jenny Lewis - See Fernando 98. Dark Dark Dark - Ashes 99. MGMT - Kids 100. The Tallest Man On Earth - Into The Stream (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, September 26th, 2008
7:44 pm	The Presidential Debates It's almost time for one of my favorite drinking games! The rules are simple. Take a drink every time: - McCain uses the phrase "My friends" - McCain mentions his time as a PoW - Obama says the word hope - Obama says the word change I am predicting a terrible hangover in the morning. Edit: I forgot this debate was foreign policy and financial crisis themed. Phrases to add in: - Pork-barrel - Earmarks - Taxes - Veterans - Surge - Terrorist - A creepy or sarcastic chuckle (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
7:49 pm	So black and blue oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh oooh Chairlift - Bruises (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008
12:49 pm	Never you mind, death professor, electrified, my love is better TV On The Radio - DLZ (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 21st, 2008
5:21 pm	All the chocolates in your pockets are gunna melt Natalie Portman's Shaved Head - Confections (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 13th, 2008
12:53 am	Ladytron - Velocifero I never post anymore. Whenever I have a few thoughts that seem blog-worthy I always end up second guessing myself. I feel like everything is either too personal to throw on the internet or there's someone else out there who's more of an authority on the subject than I am. So after a few lines of type I end up closing my browser. Bleh. This is something I just need to get over. Anyhow.... ... I was pretty excited yesterday to see that one of my favorite bands had made some new songs. Ladytron is back with their fourth studio album, Velocifero. Although it isn't as solid as their last disc, Witching Hour, it's pretty close. Not every song hits home, but when one does, it hits really hard. Plus, Ladytron is good at keeping their cool, synthy atmosphere going strong throughout, so even if every song doesn't specifically kick ass the album as a whole is still really solid. 1. Black Cat 2. Ghosts 3. I'm Not Scared 4. Runaway 5. Season Of Illusions 6. Burning Up 7. Kletva 8. They Gave You A Heart, They Gave You A Name 9. Predict The Day 10. The Lovers 11. Deep Blue 12. Tomorrow 13. Versus Make sure to click the blue links for my favorites. You just might like them too. Also, I want to start up my album e-mail dealie thing again. PM me your e-mail if you want in, or if you were in before and want out. Also, also, I'm trying out DivShare for the first time so let me know if the links go funky. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 4th, 2007
2:54 pm	Theft's a lot less awesome when it's happening to you. Last night I met Brian at a party in Eastown. Things were fine until we left. Upon returning to the car, parked in the 5/3 Bank parking lot, we realized that the little triangle window on the passenger side was busted and my bag was gone. Luckily, my iPod (with attached iTrip) was still in the console, but I am still pretty pissed. I am out my messenger bag, wallet ($40, drivers license, college ID, debt card, bus pass), $50 headphones, glasses case, library book. Gone. Ugh. Not to mention the busted window. Fucking thievery. Lame. Current Mood: irritated Current Music: Freezepop - Future Future Future Perfect (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, October 25th, 2007
12:38 am	RIP OiNK So OiNK is goners. I never signed up, but I’m still pretty sad to see it go. Here is some interesting stuff to read regaurding it’s demise, including a strange Q&A with OiNK himself. The second to last question on that one is pretty hillarious too. Current Music: The Hives - The Black And White Album (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, June 22nd, 2007
12:14 am	Bad Religion - New Maps Of Hell [CoolJets] pokerface! [CoolJets] did you hear the new BR yet? [CoolJets] 3 real hot songs in the beginning [CoolJets] the rest gets a little boring [CoolJets] but a few songs are good [Pokerface] didn't hear it, no [CoolJets] 1:25 bangers!! [Pokerface] 1:25 bangers [Pokerface] are the best kind of bangers [CoolJets] yes [CoolJets] starts out with an intro [CoolJets] goes into Heroes & Martyrs [CoolJets] clocking in at 1:25 [CoolJets] then moves on to Germs Of Perfection [CoolJets] clocking in at 1:27 [CoolJets] woooooooooo [CoolJets] so hot [CoolJets] after that [CoolJets] skip to Before You Die [CoolJets] then you're pretty much done [CoolJets] but still [CoolJets] quite a ride [Pokerface] heh (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, May 4th, 2007
1:17 am	Fountains Of Wayne - Traffic And Weather So, is Traffic And Weather a good album? Well, in my honest opinion, if you like FoW, you should like this CD. Note: If you don't actually like FoW but just liked FoW before Stacy's Mom and then hated all of Welcome Interstate Managers just because of one annoying single, then you will most likely not like this disk either. If you were annoyed by Stacy's Mom but still liked the many GOOD songs on Welcome Interstate Managers, then you probably *will* like this disk. My three favorite songs (and their WIM counterparts) are: '92 Subaru - This is the feel good sing-along of the album (think Mexican Wine). Who wouldn't want to have a tricked out Subaru of their own creation? Strapped For Cash - This one probably has the best hook (Hey Julie), although sometimes it hits a little too close to home. Finally, Seatbacks And Traytables - The chilled out song of the album (Valley Winter Song), this time about how much they... hate to fly? The rest of it is a little uneven. The first four songs are all solid, but the rest of them can sometimes be a little heavy on the tell-a-mini-story lyrics that Adam Schlesinger is so fond of these days. In the end, I'd say it's definitely not the place to start with these guys, but if you're already a fan... it's aight. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, April 7th, 2007
6:53 am	Spring For The Arts Studio Hop Me, Christina and her friend Mike walked downtown for the Spring For The Arts Studio Hop tonight. We looked at art while sipping on wine and eating cheese and fruit. It was very nice. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 5th, 2006
3:06 pm	BORAT! Go see it. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, September 4th, 2006
5:19 pm	"One By One I'll Knock You Out" New Beck!! Get it while it's hot. Beck - Cell Phone's Dead Current Music: Beck - The Information (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, June 26th, 2006
9:02 pm	Per: Is it Friday yet? So Per and Forest are both here and we're having a great time rockin' out, as usual. Cherps has to leave tomorrow morning but Per (and Bree, who should be arriving later tonight) will be here through the weekend when the excitement peaks with a dual birthday party for my buddy Alan and myself. I'll be MySpace eventing it soon so make sure to clear your calendars. Monkey Ball action shot included! Current Music: System Of A Down - Mezmerize/Hypnotize (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 28th, 2006
6:22 pm	Summer Has Arrived! The first ice cream truck sighting of the year! (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006
2:43 am	www.last.fm Have you ever wondered what music your friends are listening to? Have you ever wished you had a website that tracked your own listening habits in neat little lists? Are Livejournal, Xanga, Myspace and Facebook still not fulfilling your internet stalking needs? Fear not, my friend, for last.fm is here! Getting started is easy! Follow these three simple steps: 1. Sign up for an account at www.last.fm 2. Download and install the plugin for your preferred music player (Winamp, iTunes, Windows Media, etc). 3. Listen to music! The plugin will send song information back to the last.fm site and keep track of everything you listen to. From this information it is able to match you up with other people who have similar listening habits as you, as well as recommend new music that you've never heard of that you may like. Also, last.fm also features a free downloadable internet radio player (similar to the www.pandora.com one) which helps to find new music as well. Just type in an artist or song that you like and it will play songs that are similar. Soooooooo everyone should go sign up right now! Once you're done make sure to check out my profile and then click the red plus sign on the left side of the page so that we can be friends! What fun! I love the internet. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, February 13th, 2006
7:37 am	... etun fom a sxteen hou shft to fnd m keboad denched n alcohol. thanks a lot gus. Current Mood: drained (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 28th, 2005
12:44 am	Broken Computers And New Family? So with both computers being down I don't have much in the way of music. The only new stuff that has survived is what I have stashed on the computer here at work and the albums that Chris and Matt have leeched from me. Once I get a new rig up and running I should be able to throw my old hard drives in and everything should be smooth sailing. Hopefully. This is all just one huge rationalization for why I haven't written about any music lately. Bah! I need to find a marketable skill that I actually enjoy doing. Writing about music is more fun than writing about some random bullshit for a class but it's still writing and writing is work. Why am I so lazy?! I saw The 40 Year Old Virgin today and it wasn't completely horrible! I definitely don't like movies that are full of awkward experiences since I get to deal with those often enough in real life, but Andy's friends at the store were not only funny but also very good characters. I really liked how believable their dialogue was, as opposed to the "every single person is able to come up with the most hilarious witty comeback within seconds" dialogue a la Gilmore Girls. What else is going on? Hmm. My dad gets **MARRIED** this Friday. Crazy, huh? More pictures of Josiah in a Tux. Oooh yeah. I'd talk a little more about the whole situation but apparently some relatives on my Dad's side of the family have been known to snoop my LJ so I suppose if anyone actually cares that much we can talk about it in a less public setting. The important thing to remember is that I'll be gone in Chicago for the wedding on the 29th till the 31st. Barbera DID get us tickets to see The New Pornographers on the 31st. Although I've already seen them FRONT AND CENTER at Club Soda it should still be a great time. And I'm done. More soon. Maybe. Current Music: Snow Patrol - Final Straw (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, December 23rd, 2005
2:25 pm	I'm in Petoskey! I'll be here until ecksmess day. Call me if you're down. 616-560-6107 Current Music: Broken Social Scene (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 20th, 2005
5:05 am	Pass That Chronic... WHAT! So after a weekend in Chicago the following appear to be true: - Jake Betzold is married to a girl named Rudi - Getting lost is fun as long as you're sleeping through it - Stuart, Liz & Jerem(y)ah are all (still) super-cool kids - Stacie (and her car) are champions for making the trip with me - Stuart in a panda mask is the best entertainment one could ever ask for In other news: Another case of Internet > TV Who needs to watch SNL when you can just find the good parts online. "Yo, stop at the deli, the theater's overpriced." "You've got the backpack, gunna pack it up nice." "Don't want security to get suspicious." "Mr. Pibb plus Red Vines equals crazy delicious!" Current Music: "Lazy Sunday" (5 Comments |Comment on this)