It's the 10th of December, 2018, year end lists have already started to compile, so we better share ours!
Same thing as last year, myself, Brian Opp and Eric Rasmussen will be choosing our personal top 10 of songs for the year. Now I don't have a recent picture of just us three, but here's us in about 20-25 years.
So I think I'll give Brian Opp the honors of starting this year. Here is his list, in particular order, 10-1. (All pictures represented of each person will be over 10 years old...this might get rough!)
Brian Opp's Top 10
10. Maroon 5 - Girls Like You
9. Ghost - Rats
8. LSD - Audio
7. Imagine Dragons - Thunder
6. LSD - Thunderclouds
5. Drake - Nice For What
4. Young the Giant - Superposition
3. Travis Scott - Sicko Mode
2. Flora Cash - Somebody Else
1. lovelytheband - Broken
Super diverse list! I dig it, a few songs on here almost made mine...you know what? I'll go next. Mine is also extremely diverse as well. A lot of near misses, but I'm pretty content with my top 10. Here we go.
Jeff Kleeman's Top 10
10. Chromeo - Slumming It
9. grandson - Blood//Water
8. LSD - Audio
7. Portugal, the Man - So Young
6. Eminem - Fall
5. Childish Gambino - Feels Like Summer
4. Broken Bells - Shelter
3. M83 ft Beck - Time Wind
2. The Glorious Sons - Sawed Off Shotgun
1. Mikky Ekko - What's It Like Now
Eric it's your turn! Let's finish out strong!
Eric Rasmussen's Top 10
10. Breaking Benjamin - Red Cold River
9. Shinedown - Special
8. Royal Tusk - Aftermath
7. Shinedown - Evolve
6. Underoath - Ihateit
5. Nothing More - Fade In/ Fade Out
4. Alice in Chains - The One You Know
3. Bring Me the Horizon
2. Ghost - Dance Macabre
1. Godsmack - Bulletproof
And that does it! Ras's list is amazing. Tons of amazing rock, he actually has a longer list of the years best music which is incredible.
It's been a while since I've blogged, some have noticed. It's been a year, but I think we're finally good to blog again more consistently. The next few blogs will be ones that have been on the back burner for a while, the most underrated big bands is basically written, so that's coming soon. I really want to do an NES blog again. I have to write one on how people take fantasy football too seriously, and we have the future, no doubt award winning story, of how I found my dad after 36 years.
As always, thanks for reading, thanks for being awesome, and be ready for a blog explosion the next 2 weeks.
This weeks installment, we are going in a WAY different direction than anyone would've anticipated (sorry Pew, you'll see why Eminem is on hold...for now...we stumbled on something with that album thing....oh and Kris, waiting on GINA for Incubus, like usual!).
Longtime friend and reader of the Kleeman Report (you wanted it named the Kleeman Quarter at one time, remember that?) Katie Clausen everybody!
I bumped in to Katie at D-Days (like three times!) who I haven't seen in a long ass time, and she brought up doing one of these Favorite, Biggest, Best blogs, which with her musical knowledge I thought was a great idea. Then when she said let's do the Doors, I thought it was an even better idea. So let's do this... But first, a brief intro from Katie about the Doors:
So the Doors started in 1965 and obviously Jim Morrison's death (he's a member of the 27 club) ended their commercial success.
What a club, one most shouldn't join...but still, what a club!?
They had 7 top 10 releases during their run. I feel like everyone has had a Doors phase in their life, so this is a fun band to review.
Also- who knows what eccentric Morrison would be like if he was here today? Camping out with Joan Baez in her tree house, doing interviews you can barely understand with Keith Richards (who also fell out of a tree a few years ago), maybe he'd be a Trump supporter selling AR's off the strip in Vegas? Who knows!?
Jeff Note: Conspiracy theorists believe this may be Jim...um...
Also as a side note, Densmore and Krieger had a post Morrison band called the "Butts Band", which lets be honest, pleases the 12 year old in us all.
Let's start!
Biggest: "Light My Fire"
No surprise here, this song is probably one of the more family friendly, therefore radio friendly, songs the band released. Its not my favorite but it has its place in the sun. It has a very pop vibe which is not surprising since they were still competing with the Beatles at the time for chart space. "Hello, I Love You" was also a huge chart topper for them from the following year.
Best: "Roadhouse Blues
Driving guitar, harmonica, killer piano licks. This song is guaranteed to make you want to party. I'm going to make post D-DAYS Bloody Mary right now. Its a song to be enjoyed with friends.
Favorite: "The End"
Its so hard to choose because the band has such a variety of songs for a variety of moods but I think I have to go with "The End" purely for its shock value. Referencing getting high, Oedipus, and expecting radio play? Cajones, Jim.
There are so many good obscure Doors jams, its hard to compile a list. It was a crazy time for music in the late 1960's and early 70's where bands were supposed to be popular to keep their labels happy but were driven by political and social movements at their core. Pre-YouTube and other forms of exposure they relied on main-stream popularity to prosper financially. Morrison was very disturbed, longed to be a poet, and was living in a time of great social change. The Doors isn't just about Jim either, some really great organ/keys and guitar can be heard in these tracks.
Jeff! I love this "series", I remember getting the Kleeman Report in my inbox as a Sophomore in my dorm room at the U of M. I think the next phase for the KR should totally be a Verm-centric radio hour.
Thanks for the fun opportunity.
And thank you Katie! We actually did try a podcast, there are 2 episodes in the can as they say! But they'll never see the light of day because, um, laziness. In related news, someone find me somebody to just upload my podcast so I don't have to do work, I'll pay...a little.
So I better get my list in, huh!?
Favorite: Touch Me
This is my favorite Doors song, it's just a good old fashioned time when I listen to it. I should try this at karaoke sometime, and then get booed offstage Bon Jovi style (Hi Kyle!).
Biggest: Break on Through (To the Other Side)
When you think of the Doors, a lot of things come to mind.
1. Jim Morrison was a handsome dude ( or still is!).
2. Val Kilmer was incredible in the Doors movie. Seriously check it out if you have an extra three hours sometime.
3. Break on Through, for me anyway, is the one that pops in my head if I think of the Doors. It's in my head now just typing the Doors, or seeing an actual door.
You don't even want to know what gets in my head when I see a Stop sign...like 80 songs get in there.
Best: Hello, I Love You
Forrest Gump agrees! This is the best Doors song ever.
Thanks Forrest. There are so many to pick from, we omitted so many songs from their extensive library...Riders on the Storm anybody!? Love Her Madly? What's up again Forrest!?
So many songs by a great band. Go listen to them today. It's Monday, what else do you have to do!? Thanks to Katie for guest contributing! Always a pleasure, I'll see you in another 5 years I'm sure!
Next time on the Kleeman Report...
People Who Suck! But maybe with a better title, maybe People That Kinda Need to Change Things Up a Bit!? Or Stop What You're Doing! (and then just put the lyrics to the Humpty Dance in it for a huge inside joke). Or I just don't do that one to not offend anybody, who knows, I'm a wild card.
Then Incubus and Eminem in this series next...unless I change my mind...again. Wild card.
If you've been a long time reader, friend, or passerby, you know of the quest every D Days...the quest to find...Tom Brokaw.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with D Days, ( I actually get readers not from this area, which leads me to think two things. 1. That's awesome. 2. What is wrong with you!? Just kidding, keep reading!) D Days is my alma mater's yearly parade/reunion/football game/drunkfest that happens at the beginning of every October. We've covered it before here, so that will be the last refresher.
The running joke for the past few years has been #findbrokaw. That plan would ultimately serve two purposes. A promotion for this website (the first year we actually put #findbrokaw pictures around campus, even though I didn't live here at the time. The winner got...haha NOTHING! There was a shot of liquor promised, plans fell through, I'll still pay up if you find me) and second, to somehow find Tom Brokaw and buy him a drink.
Did we find Tom Brokaw? Yes, yes we did. Was it at D Days? Well...
Not exactly. He was here to promote his book basically at a discussion on our campus about Russia's influence on the election (I'm sure some Trump's avoided it, thinking it's fake news and all...). But a few things before we get in to who we find next? Brokaw was found, just a few weeks later. Is he going to be back at D Days? Who knows? He's getting older, he seems to have claimed the University of Iowa now (stupid, I know), and he may have had some bad press this past year...so we found him. It's time to move on to a new hashtag find (#find!).
But who? Who should we set our sights on trying to find this year for Dakota Days? I have compiled a list to figure out just that (oddly with current events, I've found everyone I've needed to find this past year, but you'll find that out in a future blog)!
Let's begin with the obvious.
Jim Abbott
Still the greatest USD president of all time! Will he be here? Yeah, probably. Will he be hard to find? Yeah...probably not, huh? But will it be worth it. Duh.
This dude is the Bret Hart (look it up) of presidents, the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. He will be under strong consideration.
John Thune
That's gonna be a hard pass (pun both intended and not intended). Also can you believe this photo exists!? Incredible.
Eugene
Eugene is going to be there!? I'm so down on this. Eugene, you might be reading this blog, so I'm going to find you, I'm going to buy you a shot, and then we're gonna talk which one of your wrestlers needs a charismatic manager.
All white suit. Maybe I'll have a walking cane with powder in it? Just a thought. We'll discuss at D Days after Pro Wrestling at the Eagles in Vermillion, SD at 6 PM!
The Squabbit
It's time for you to show your face buddy! I heard about you in 2005. Why haven't I seen you, huh!? Who are you avoiding? What are you avoiding!? The guy DEFINITELY is gone who told us about you. He's probably living, hopping train to train just to avoid the memory of you...and I want to know why!
Mary Hart
We can't get Pat O' Brien for obvious reasons (seriously Pat, come back! We have Pepsi), so let's go with Sioux Falls own, Mary Hart. Why haven't you been to a D Days Mary!? Maybe they could make you like a parade marshal or something!?
On a related note, we need a big name to come every year and be our parade marshal. If SDSU can get Joey Fatone for a pillow fight, you're frickin' right we can get Chris Kirkpatrick. He's not doing anything, I know this, my cousin met the guy!
I'll even take him with or without the haircut.
Finally...the main event. Who do we need to find this D Days you may ask!?
Kyle Jensen
This photo is the reverse photo of the John Thune one.
In my experience there is a Mount Rushmore of USD sports fans. In no particular order its:
1. President Abbott
2. Nick "Tick" Severson
3. Bad Green
4. Kyle Jensen
This man should be flown in the night before the parade every single year. It's not that expensive. People should pool money together to bring him and his family out here, just so their kid can get some candy in the parade. Then get him the heck out of here the next morning. He will be the D Days version of Santa Claus, except instead of gifts he will come bearing U S D Coyotes!!!! chants.
Let's make this happen.
If you have anyone I missed, feel free to comment on my FB page, or in the comment section here.
What's coming up next on this site? Two things... a new "Favorite. Biggest. Best" with a twist. And the long awaited "People Who Need to Go"...that one won't make anyone mad...
Last week I got to experience one of the best rock bands ever, live and in person Metallica. It was an amazing show! They played almost all of their hits...they had Jim Breuer open, and we left with :20 seconds left of Enter Sandman so my wife could get to work, it honestly was everything you could ever ask for in a show! But it got me thinking, who was my generations (age 32-40) band? THE BAND!?
Clearly each decade had a band or two that were theirs. The 60's you liked the Rolling Stones or the Beatles. The 70's you had Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin. The 80's you had Guns N Roses or Metallica. The early 90's were Nirvana...but after them, who? Who is our biggest band after Nirvana?
Creed?
Nickelback?
No to all of them (although I came across a Nickelback song a while ago, and shockingly it didn't age horribly, I found it not...bad. Shhhhhhh! Don't tell.).
And who would my favorite band even be? All time it's the Beatles, and I really like the Strokes...but who is a sneaky contender for my favorite band of all time for pure rock?
Oh fuck...no way!?
Limp Bizkit?! Could it be? It...it is!
I love Limp Bizkit. And I hope I don't offend Mr. Durst if you are improbably reading this, but I think the reason I like it so much, I don't have to think too damn hard about the music. Fred, Mr. Bizkit, has basically 5 ranges of emotion:
1. Angry
2. Really angry
3. Angrily rocking out
4. Wearing hats
5. Songs that make him want to awkwardly dance and use of hands...
But it's all catchy! It's all great...for the most part! And if you ignore they came out with an album in 2011 (what the F!?) or legit have had an album in development for years after that, (the name you may ask!? Stampede of the Disco Elephants...Limp Bizkit were either incredibly innovative with naming things...or never great with names...ever) they really had, at most, a limited time to deliver some arguably great music.
Significant Other came out in 1999, that was my senior year of high school. I was oddly shy at that time, so I spent a lot of time playing PS1 and listening to music at that time. I listened and bought every type of music (thanks BMG!), but there was no album I played more than Significant Other at that time. The next year I went to the midnight release at my local On Cue to buy Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water when it came out (I told you...not the best with naming things), it was arguably played more than Significant Other.
They then followed that up with a criminally (see what I did Ras!?) underrated album in Results May Vary. I liked it, it bombed, it was the beginning of the end, save for one last comeback with a song called "The Truth" which came out in 2005. Then they were done. And since then have there been any "new" bands to get as big as them?
Go ahead, try to name someone as big. Maybe Linkin Park? But to me that's the same era, and Limp Bizkit was bigger. Korn? Comparable, but same argument. Bizkit wins. Green Day had the one brilliant album in the mid-2000's...nothing that great since (and they are a 90's band to me anyway). Since then the biggest selling band is Imagine Dragons. The best tours are nostalgia acts (sorry Metallica, that's you). My favorite to listen to? Besides a handful of new songs, I go to the 90's for my rock music.
Rock is so different now. Rock radio honestly sucks. It's just the same old songs over and over again and then they throw in The Pretty Reckless every now and then because she's hot.
She's Cindy Lou Hoo by the way in the Jim Carrey Grinch movie...think about that for a second...
Don't believe me on rock radio? Go turn to your rock station now. It'll be AC/DC...then a 90's rock band...then Ozzy, then Shinedown...then The Pretty Reckless, repeat. Rock tours are nostalgia acts or recent ish bands that are good, but not great (and this is only my opinion, but bands like Five Finger Death Punch, Chevelle, Shinedown are good, and I love at least 2-3 songs by each BUT they aren't Metallica, the mystique isn't there for me. If I met James Hetfield I would shit myself, if I met anyone in those bands above, I would literally have no idea. I would have to ask Ras or Dino who they are.).
We need some new music...and until we get that music I'm going to listen to what I like, and dammit, what I like is the BIZKIT!
So what's this surprisingly, incredibly long intro leading up to? We are doing a Favorite. Biggest. Best. Limp Bizkit. I have recruited Ras and James to give their choices, as well as mine. If you missed the last one, we covered blink-182 (arguably a band that should be in the discussion of best 90's band) with Beach which you can find Here!
Let's get started before this gets any longer! And....go!
Ras's Selections:
Favorite: The Truth
Biggest: Nookie
Best: Full Nelson
I can't argue with any of Ras's selections, and I love the Full Nelson pick. He dug deep in to that library. The Truth is a song a lot of people haven't heard, and that's disappointing because it's really, really, really freaking good.
James's Selections:
Favorite: N 2 Gether Now
Biggest: Nookie (a trend is developing!)
Best: My Way
My Way is arguably their 4th biggest song (full disclosure, I, Jeff, do not like Rollin'...blame the Undertaker.). Clearly we all agree on Nookie, and N 2 Gether now is a classic that started them having a rap feature on their next two albums (Xzibit on Getcha Groove On and Snoop on the CRIMINALLY underrated Red Light, Green Light). Jeff's Selections:
Favorite: Re-Arranged
Biggest: Nookie (trend developed)
Best: The Truth
Nookie is clearly their biggest song. Faith would be after that, then Rollin', then My Way...if I keep ranking them I'm just going to do another Limp Bizkit blog, and nobody wants that after this one.
The Truth is such an underrated song, and at the time, it was really exciting to see if that was the direction they were going in since nu metal was dead in 2005. Unfortunately red hats stopped being sold, so with red hats went Limp Bizkit.
That's it for this week! If you want to do one of these Favorite. Biggest. Best. Be my guest. Literally! A few of you posted last time, so maybe 3 Doors Down would be a unique one. Or Incubus. I'd LOVE to do Eminem, but that ones too easy.
Next blog will be the long awaited "The Kind of People Who Suck"...clearly flat earthers and anti vaxxers make this, but we all know there are more kinds of people that suck.
Well I decided to start having some fun with this blog, and Dammit (you'll see what I did here)...I'm going to.
I love to debate music. I like all kinds of music, really everything except country, and I really like to debate the best song of artists I really like. What they would close their show with? What is their best song? Well that's going to be this blog series.
Each one of these I'll do with a friend of mine (Ras maybe with Nirvana? Schempp with Dr. Dre, Kyle with Eminem, etc...I would say Dino, but he HATES being tagged in stuff so....). Each will have the following three categories.
Favorite...which clearly is your favorite song by the artist.
Best...which you try to be unbiased and pick the best work.
Biggest...the most popular song, what would end him/she/they/it's set list. Ex: Lou Bega would end with Tricky Tricky (clearly Mambo No. 5, but you see what I did there as well? Get it!?).
This week I borrowed some time from Beach to see get his views on his favorite band of all time, blink-182.
There is NOBODY on this planet who likes blink-182 as much as Cory. They are such a great band, one of my favorites as well, so I wanted to pick Cory's brain on them, simply because he knows so much about them.
I'll start the blog with me, because not only am I super selfish, but Cory had a LOT of great info to say about blink, really interesting, good stuff that I wanted to include it over my opinion (you're clicking this for Cory, not for me).
Cory, Zach G, and Jeff at D Days...it's Zach, trust us.
So here is me and Cory's (Cory and I's) list of Favorite/Biggest/Best for blink-182.
Me first!
Favorite: Always
*this was almost Going Away to College or Reckless Abandon, super close on both. Always has that new wave feel, pop chorus, I like it.
Biggest: All the Small Things
Best: The Rock Show
Best song has a TON of choices, but I went with The Rock Show, because I did. But you're not here for me on this blog...on to the main event, you're here for Cory.
Favorite: Lemmings
Biggest: What's My Age Again
*Cory also included Dammit (which is...spoiler alert...next!) among the most popular of the fan base or Carousel
Best: Dammit
Now a quick review from Mr. Beach on blink-182, their albums, current status, etc...etc...etc....
Oooh look at me, I like fancy food! - some idiot!
Best album is tough! I love their first two albums, they are gritty, the guitar is quick, there aren't any bands like that out anymore.
I feel like the Take Off Your Pants and Jacket album has a perfect blend of them growing as a band and still being funny. Plus it would be considered their sophomore album...even though it isn't...after the huge success of Enema of the State.
It proved they can still write another huge album and still fuck off and remain themselves..even though Dude Ranch will always be my favorite...but new Blink...
It's just that! It's new. The album(s) that came out are great sounding, I don't feel much from their lyrics as much as I did from the other albums...obviously old blink albums. They are at a point in all of their careers (Mark, Travis, Matt) that they know how to write a good sounding song, but I feel disconnected with a band when the lyrics are just lyrics to help create a song, this is why I hate Weezer.
But new blink isn't blink...Matt has no guitar riffs like Tom and that's part of what gave blink their sound. Everyone knows it's What's My Age Again after those first few chords, same with Stay Together For the Kids. I think Matt was hired because he's in the same genre and has that falsetto voice.
I think they should have called it quits for a second time, either going back to +44 and invite Matt to that, or start a new band name with the trio of Mark, Travis and Matt.
Neighborhoods was a terrible album, there was no producer, no studio time where they were all together like in the other albums. They literally passed back and forth guitar and bass riffs and then put lyrics to it.
Travis as quoted answering a question why even having a producer on the California album and he said, "So it doesn't come out sounding like Neighborhoods!".
I saw blink a couple times whey they got back with Tom, it was terrible, Tom was half-assing lyrics, not even in key, he clearly didn't want to be there. It's prevalent on a lot of live videos he doesn't want to be there.
- Cory
So that does it for this first edition! I added this .gif because it's quite possibly the best one of all time, and Tom is super weird now. Also, when we review Weezer I feel Cory will not be a part of that one (he does love the Africa cover though!).
If you would like to do one of these with me, I'm down. It's probably one of the most fun blogs I've written in a long time. Next week, I'm going to try and get Brad for Outkast...or Schempp for Dr. Dre.
It's a Friday, my kid is taking a nap, I want to write a blog about my favorite games, and I couldn't come up with a better title than 23 Games...I mean, yeah.
I could have went with a Michael Jordan theme?
But he was never in any game growing up besides the really crappy Super Nintendo game my mom got me for Christmas...sorry mom!
You didn't know! Also this was the first game to make me motion sick, go figure (I get motion sick for first person shooters and oddly this game, I'm not sure why?).
So I'm not going in any particular order on the games. My favorite game of all time is Super Mario RPG...after that it's a bit fuzzy because of so many classics.
I'm gonna get weird with the first one:
Gitaroo Man
I had a roommate (hey Dallas!) in college who was the video game KING. And would find out about insane games and get them. This one seems really stupid in theory...it's not. It's incredible.
You basically save the world with your guitar and rhythm skills, the only two things anyone needs really. That's why Eric Rasmussen will save the world.
This game is one of many awesome music games (sorry you didn't make the list PaRappa the Rapper (watch them fries!) to make the list. Also if anybody can find this game for me, that'd be great.
Next, less weird!
Mario Kart: Double Dash
Nobody better be taking Baby Mario...not NOBODY. I love this game, it's my favorite out of all the Mario Kart's...sorry Wii and N64 version!
I could literally play this all day, and do you know why? Because I have. The Wii version went a solid 24 hours straight in our house, and I don't regret a single minute of it, except for those jerks online who would work in tandem to beat us. Go straight to hell! Or rot in hell! - Dino
Final Fantasy VII
I beat this entire game. And when I say entire, I didn't just go through and beat it as fast as possible (high school joke is hidden in that last sentence somewhere...). No I defeated every single thing in the game, then played Final Fantasy VIII and did the same.
Did I party in high school? Yeah, with Final Fantasy apparently.
Triple Play 98
Brian Jordan references! I got my PlayStation in 1997, and it was amazing. I got this and another game that'll appear later on in this list. And just like Brian Jordan...it was a home run!
I took the Cubs (I even liked them then thank you very much!) to an unprecedented 162-0, with World Series victory that summer.
Also there is a cheat code to hit a home run at every at bat...I might have used it a time or two in Home Run Derby's, sorry Brad.
(A close second on best baseball game is Tecmo Super Baseball on the SNES, it's how I've memorized every order from 1994 MLB and close behind is MVP Baseball 2005, because I love Rob Huckins).
Tetris
Tetris in any form is amazing. From the NES, to the crappy computer version you see here, to the sort of fun later versions where they went too weird with it.
We can thank Russia for two things, Tetris and Vodka, and be angry with them for one...Trump's presidency. Moving along.
WWF Royal Rumble
This is the most fun wrestling game in my opinion, just based on the hours I've played it. IT was also my first Super Nintendo game, so it has a special place in my heart. The line up is stacked, and it only has a few wrestlers who have died, so nothing too morbid (RIP Yokozuna).
I was always Randy Savage or Bret Hart (my all time #1 and #3)...but you can play as Razor Ramon, HBK or Flair. Even frickin Tatanka is on it...and the best is they play their entrance music as well.
I remember Tag Team tournaments with my buddy Brady. Royal Rumbles with my cousin Brad, where we'd eliminate everyone as soon as they got in. I might play this tonight, I'm a wild card.
Close behind are WWF Attitude (underrated) and of course Smackdown versus Danny Gilbertson (BATISTA!!!).
If you have an SNES, and 5 bucks...buy this. Or don't, what do I care?
Amplitude
The only game I know for a fact nobody can beat me in. If there were tournaments, I would enter.
This is the precursor to Rock Band/ Guitar Hero. You would use your controller to match the beat.
I'll add in the following game as well to explain more:
Frequency
So you can play versus a friend or do career mode. It gets harder as you goes (there's a college joke in there somewhere).
The game also introduced me to a ton of great DJ's and musicians. I'm gonna listen to Freezepop, while I play Royal Rumble tonight! I'm 36!!!
Aladdin
This game is just some good old fashioned fun. A great side scroller based on my favorite Disney movie. I actually defeated this game as well as a child, I tried it as an adult..no clue how I defeated it. Disney has a lot of great games...such as!
Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers
I'm a Chip on the outside, a Dale on the inside. Dress nice, but boy do I like to party!
Anyway, so this is one of the best games ever. It's really fun, I have also defeated it, so I can put that on my resume.
There is a part 2 to this game, and I collect NES games...I actually only have 13 left to go for what I want, the problem is, the sequel to this game is $250...so that's a hard no from my wife. As an aside, for Christmas I really want Chip and Dale 2. Thanks!
Super Mario Bros 3
This was the first game I had ever heard of a strategy guide for. I legit sat down and read that mofo front to back. It was so interesting to me that there could be hidden parts of a level (thanks Uncle Kal for letting me borrow it!).
It's the greatest NES game of all time (sorry Yo! Noid) and quite possibly the best of all time, Mario is the king, might as well get rid of the next two.
Super Mario World
Ahhhh, the game where it's perfectly normal to repeatedly kill your newfound reptile friend. The Mario series is so damn good (except those Luigi solo projects, it's like Ringo when he left the Beatles).
Arguably the greatest game ever made.
Super Mario RPG
It's Super Mario. And an RPG (Role Playing Game) all in one. It's my favorite game ever. I've explained it in my blog maybe 12,000 times.
Oh and my wife is the best and got this for me for Valentine's Day a few years ago. I took work off one day to defeat it. You can tell my work, I don't even think it exists anymore.
NBA Live '96
I love this game so much. Also one of the few games I know I can beat anyone in at almost anytime. NBA Jam...not so much.
The thing that made this so awesome back then, it has unlockable characters if you type in their name correctly in the create a player mode. So yes, you can have Michael Jordan. I also updated all the rosters with trades, I was that anal of a 13 year old kid. But 90's NBA is my Nirvana. Literally.
NBA Live '95 almost won for sentimental reasons.
Zanac
In high school I got my first job at a senior citizen's center. And I saved, and I saved, and then I quit my first of many jobs. What did I get with that money? A Nintendo on eBay with 35 games for 40 bucks. No way I find that deal again. Ever.
It had a lot of good games for starting a collection, and some real clunkers, and one of those I put in to see if it was fun was this game, Zanac. Almost beat this...once, never close ever again. The better you do, the harder it gets, but I'm super anal and want to completely destroy everything so I die pretty quickly in this game.
It's one of my favorite games ever, it reminded me a lot of the following game...
Strike Gunner STG
So growing up, I borrowed a game from my friend Brady as much as I rented the movie Ladybugs from our rental store...A LOT.
Same as Zanac, just a different system. Outer space pilot shooting interestingly timed enemies until you come up to a boss. I have defeated this, once. It was magical. After I won, I'm sure I opened up a delicious Crystal Clear Pepsi and ate Gushers like a madman.
Little Nemo: Dream Master
One of the most underrated games of all time. I'll remember how we defeated this forever. College, 2 AM, me, Schempp, Ras. Drinking Icehouse, playing Little Nemo.
We did make the mistake of watching the movie shortly after this, there was still Icehouse around, luckily...because it was so horrible.
Anticipation
Speaking of Schempp...there is nobody better at me than Anticipation...except for him.
You would have two teams, and it's like Pictionary, where it draws (poorly) whatever it is you have to guess. Then Beach would get mad and say we were cheating and then we'd drink Icehouse and do awesome things.
A really good party game. Not even kidding. Maybe when we update TASKS, we'll include this in it.
Super Monkey Ball
Speaking of party games. Look no further than Super Monkey Ball. Monkey Bowling is a great drinking game. Same with Monkey Target.
I actually received the PS2 version of this as a birthday gift (thanks Steff! I still have it). Every now and then I'll try to get a perfect game in bowling, and fail...damn you Pew.
Animal Crossing
This was one of the first "real time" games I ever remember playing. It was really convenient because our entire household was addicted to this game. So we would play at different times throughout the day.
Hidden in the game are a bunch of fun things, NES games being one of them. One of my fondest memories was waking up at 6 am on a Saturday morning to chop down every single tree in my roommates town because he pissed me off the night before. Then when he logged in, we told him his town got destroyed and we weren't sure why. Not even sorry JW.
This game also reminds me that we had to stop playing on Saturday nights at 8 PM because Trading Spaces was on. Thanks Jina for letting me know who Genevieve was during her prime. YOWZA!
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
Earlier I said my first two games I bought on the PS1 made the list, but I made a last second change while (whilst) riding this. Need for Speed 2 is great, and I played it for literally days....but....Hot Pursuit has a great soundtrack. Better graphics and courses. And Bush is on it. Not the president, but the amazing band.
Other racing games that just missed out...Burnout...Gran Turismo...
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
You can literally get lost in this game if you let it happen to you. My wife got this for my for Christmas a few years ago (pre-baby) and I started with the intentions of beating it. I got the furthest I've ever gotten, and haven't played since my daughter was born.
This is arguably the best in the Zelda series, or any series for that matter. Great game.
Madden 2004
Why this Madden over any of the other ones? Vick. The soundtrack. The gameplay. The fact that you can return punts and kickoffs for touchdowns and it wasn't insanely difficult to do it. The 49'ers sucked so I didn't have to pick them every time because Tim Rattay was hot garbage. The dynasty mode with Pew, Rob and Dino. The tournament with Ras and Karl. Playing this while hearing Karl walk in on something he shouldn't have.
Close Madden's were 92, 96, 05, 16 for me. Tecmo Super Bowl and Tecmo Super Bowl III. NFL Blitz...all close.
And that does it! My favorite games ever.
"But Cowriter!" says Danny, "Where is Battletoads!?"
Battletoads is fun, but you basically play two levels, then die every time. But I will leave you with this...Battletoads has the BEST video game song ever made.
The game should be updated and remade. The song should be as well. And if you pause the game, it also has the best pause music ever.
Enjoy 10 hours of it. I will. While playing Royal Rumble. And listening to Freezepop. Oh nostalgia!
Jeff
PS Any suggestions for next blog are fine. I'm most likely going in a direction of top 3 of a specific artist, going with Outkast next. Unless I don't.
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