Decade of Music: 2000-2009

Christmas, work and general laziness has consumed Mrs. Magnolia and myself over the past couple weeks.

We apologize.

Actually, she does, but I do not. Christmas is by far my favorite holiday, and I'll make time for our adoring fans(see: mostly family) afterwards.

Last time, I took a look at the best movies of the first ten years of the new millenium. Let's jump into the world of clefs, codas and middle C by examining the best songs of the 2000's to date.

In a particular "High Fidelity" fashion, it's a top fiver for a few selected genres. Add more if you must.

RAP/HIP-HOP
1.) Outkast- "Hey Ya!"- Seriously, who didn't shake it like a Polaroid picture at least once during the 2000's?
2.) Kanye West- "Gold Digger"- Combined Ray Charles ala Jamie Foxx and an addictive beat, loved it.
3.) Jay Z- "Dirt Off Your Shoulder"- Go to a club, bar or just anywhere music is being played loudly for an hour. If someone doesn't pretend to brush dirt off their shoulders, you're probably in a foreign country.
4.) Outkast- "Ms. Jackson"- Two albums in this decade(Stankonia, Speakerboxx/Love Below) were among the best. Well done, ATL-iens.
5.) Eminem- "Lose Yourself"- The track from the mediocre movie "Eight Mile" was a summation of the things this artist wants you to know about his beginnings.

COUNTRY
1.) Brad Paisley- "Alcohol"- A song nearly everyone can relate to across genres.
2.) Alan Jackson- "Where were you when the world stopped turning"- Unbelievable connection to feelings and emotions held by many after the 9/11 attacks. Lasting value for the song will last for decades.
3.) Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss- "Whiskey Lullaby"- Another song about booze? What are you, a drunk? No, that's just country music. Great sad story and absolutely made top 5 due to Krauss.
4.) Toby Keith- "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue"- Keith wrote this in light of 9/11 attacks in memory of his veteran father and what his dad would have thought about the terrorist attacks. Some people are offended by some of the wording but not me.
5.) Brooks and Dunn- "I Believe"- Choir accompaniement, spoken-sung lyrics and great story made this a favorite for country music fans. Good to see this long-standing duo continuing to put out great music.

ROCK/ALTERNATIVE
1.) Franz Ferdinand- "Take Me Out"- Lead riff is like crack. Addictive from the first time...not that I would know from first hand...just what I've been told.
2.) Coldplay- "Clocks"- Might be the best band of the decade.
3.) The Killers- "Mr. Brightside"- I still don't really understand some of the words in the song, but I've made up my own to make up for it.
4.) Coldplay- "Viva La Vida"- See numero dos.
5.) Gorillaz- "Clint Eastwood"- Just different from everything else but well executed and gets stuck in the noggin.

DANCE-Y, GIRLY, TWIRLY MUSIC
1.) Beyonce- "Single Ladies"- Women be dancin' to this all the tiiiiime.
2.) Kelly Clarkson- "Since U Been Gone"- I'm fairly certain I heard this blasted from every Benz and Beamer at Ole Miss whilst I was there.
3.) Rihanna- "Umbrella"- RELEASE A SONG ABOUT RESTRAINING ORDERS NEXT!!!11!! OMG I LUV U RIHANNNAAAA MYMANISCRAZYYYTOOOOO. /sarcasm
4.) Beyonce- "Irreplaceable"- To the left, to the left.
5.) Britney Spears- "Toxic"- No comment.

There you have it. Enjoy and discuss amongst yourselves.

Favorites of the Decade(2000-2009)

There's been some publicity of late where the Associated Press or Rolling Stone or some other worthy, ink-stained wretches choose the best movies, albums, athletes, cheeses, wines, shoes and Kardashian of the decade.

First, let's get this straight: 2000-2009 is the decade. The 1990's were from 1990-1999. 2010 is the next decade, and it would make no sense to start at 1 rather than 0 for the beginning of a ten year span. 

Obviously, these selections bring up hours of debate, or sometimes just minutes depending on the company you keep. Here's a few of my best of the decade selections with brief reasons why:

MOVIES

Best action movie: Gladiator. Russell Crowe is phenomenal in this historical fiction piece bringing to life Ancient Rome and the bloodbaths of gladiator battle. There's a man with nothing to lose and everything to gain, a disgusting villian and he KILLS A TIGER. Cha-ching. Honorable mention: Munich.

Best geek movie: Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers. This is my favorite of the three movies, and I have to admit I enjoyed the trilogy. There were corny parts in all three, and you have to really throw yourself into fantasy world to get into these movies. Great battle scenes and unbelievable story-telling though. Honorable mention: Spiderman.

Best mystery/crime/thriller: The Departed. Martin Scorsese is fantastic. I would imagine the payroll for this movie was larger than Black Friday spending. South Boston accents all over the place, dead bodies flying off rooftops and the classic undercover cop flushing out a rat story. Honorable mention: Traffic.

Best drama: A Beautiful Mind. Russell Crowe, go back to drinking a lot and acting well. Gladiator in 2000, A Beautiful Mind in 2001. Daggum. Honorable mention: Million Dollar Baby.

Best musical/movie: Ray. I'm a Georgia boy, through and through. Jamie Foxx, amazing. Music in this should shake your soul. Honorable mention: Chicago.

Next post, we'll go further into my best of 2000's selections with some music. What's your opinion on my choices? What movies did I miss out on?

Butterball is turning 1...

Hello all!

My sweet niece Kinsley is turning one year old one week from today. It was one year ago that we were wondering if she was ever going to join us...My sister's due date was December 12. December 12 came and went with no excitement, so finally after being induced on Dec. 22, little Kinsley came into the world on 12-23-2008 at 10:47 p.m. Each day since has been such a blessing! I never knew it was possible to love something so much, oh but it is. Sorry family, but seeing her is what I look forward to most when I am traveling home. She brings so much joy to my life and I can't imagine life without Butterball. I am so excited to see what God has in store for her life. I have a feeling she is going to amaze us.

We celebrated her 1st birthday last weekend and boy was it fun! She was so fun to watch as she tore open her presents and devoured her banana smash cake. I am posting a few pictures of the celebration so each of you can have a smile today :)

I love you Butterball!
LuLu

Let's Go Caroling...

I wanted to share my top 5 favorite songs of the holidays. Well it was really hard to keep the list at 5 so there are a few honorable mentions.

5. White Christmas
4. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
3. Wonderful Christmastime
2. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
1. Silent Night

Honorable Mentions:

Baby, It's Cold Outside
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
Have a Holly Jolly Chirstmas

Please share your favorite Christmas carols!

Road rage – why I love it

Mrs. Magnolia and I live in marginally sized south Mississippi town. It has most of the chain restaurants people enjoy. There's a six lane highway running through the city(old people would call it "the strip," which sounds like the place to be, but it's not).

Along with the six lane highway comes an expected amount of traffic. Now, I grew up in Atlanta(see: bad traffic = three or more hours), so it is fairly difficult for me to call what we normally see in our town as traffic.

However, whilst I steer my SUV swiftly through the avenues of asphalt to get to my desired location a bubbling vat of anger awaits for any stupidity I encounter. I'm the guy changing lanes often, talking on his cell phone and randomly yelling at my steering wheel in frustration. 

For example, the good Lord put blinkers on your vehicle for a reason. Mainly so I wouldn't plow my huge vehicle into yours as your leisurely turn into Blockbuster to most likely return a movie with late charges. Seriously, who still uses Blockbuster? Join the 21st century and get Netflix.

If your blinkers don't work, wave your arms to let me know you're turning. I'll appreciate it even though you look like an idiot. 

Then, there's the motorists who are from absolutely the middle of nowhere. I'm talking about the cast of Deliverance comes to your town to head up to the Wal-Mart and get their monthly rations. They generally drive 10 miles under the speed limit and slowly ease into other lanes as if they don't know about keeping it between the mayonnaise and the mustard. Usually I enjoy yelling, "The accelerator is on the right" or "Go back to your shanties."

Now, I don't know why I enjoy getting upset while I'm driving, but it's just cleansing...that's all I can say about it. I generally try to be incredibly nice to everyone I come into contact with except when I'm behind the wheel. 

Maybe I have anger issues, but at least I'm not this kid.

Okay, that video is most likely fake, but you gotta admit. It's freakin' hilarious.

I don't think I've ever been that upset about anything. Not even when someone pulls out of a church parking lot causing me to honk my horn and then I get the middle finger waved at me. Now THAT is the church I need to join. 

HOHOHO!

For your viewing pleasure:

Hi, My name is Lindsey and I am a Blog Slacker

It has been almost one full month since my last blog post. I have been tagged as a blog slacker by a dear friend, this is a tag I am not proud of. I will blame my slackerness on the semester coming to an end and Mr. Goober not contributing :) Thankfully, for me, the semester is OVER! I only have one more semester here in South MS and then it is off to a twelve month externship. Praise the Lord for helping me through these 2 1/2 years of graduate school.

Since my last post, our beloved Rebels have finished the regular season at 8-4. We finished the season beating the most hated LSU only to lose to State. However, that is fine with me. State can relish their Egg Bowl trophy on January 2nd, 2010 when the Rebs take on the Cowboys of Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl. HOTTY TODDY! Also, since the last post, I celebrated a birthday...a milestone birthday....quarter of a century birthday! I was dreading this day, seeing my early twenties come to an end. However, I realized that I have had an amazing 25 years and I have been blessed and now I am looking forward to my next 25! Not to mention, my family and dear friends made the day super special. Mr. Goober did a fabulous job making my birthday wekeend special as well.

We spent a weekend getting the house festive for the holidays. Needless to say, I think it looks perfect! Hopefully, I'll get a few pictures posted soon. Now, if we can just remember to water the tree everyday :) I plan to get my Christmas cards out tomorrow so for the lucky ones who read this blog...keep checking your mailboxes.

I am trying my best to keep it updated now that I am on a break and hopefully this will form a habit that will stick around when January and classes roll back around.