The Motions' top records of the decade...

With the decade coming to a close, here's my personal picks for the top 25 records of the decade.

25. "The Rising" - Bruce Springsteen

24. "The Body, The Blood, The Machine" - The Thermals

23. "Stankonia" - Outkast

22. "Diorama" - Silverchair

21. "The Argument" - Fugazi

20. "Kill The Moonlight" - Spoon

19. "Hail To The Thief" - Radiohead

18. "Boxer" - The National

17. "Rubber Factory" - The Black Keys

16. "Z" - My Morning Jacket

15. "Amnesiac" - Radiohead

14. "Chutes Too Narrow" - The Shins

13. "Brighter Than Creation's Dark" - Drive-By Truckers

12. "Funeral" - Arcade Fire

11. "Boys And Girls In America" - The Hold Steady

10. "Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus" - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

9. "Illinois" - Sufjan Stevens

8. "Is This It?" - The Strokes

7. "Neon Bible" - Arcade Fire

6. "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" - Spoon

5. "The Moon And Antarctica" - Modest Mouse

4. "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" - Wilco

3. "Young Modern" - Silverchair

2. "Kid A" - Radiohead

1. "In Rainbows" - Radiohead

Yeah, it's an odd list I guess. I know everyone is either going with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or Kid A as record of the decade, but personally, I just find In Rainbows more enjoyable. Maybe not groundbreaking, but not all great records have to be groundbreaking. If you haven't listened to Young Modern, do yourself a favor and check it out. That record is incredible, from start to finish. There you go.

-toby

We're on tour....

Yeah, I'm just going to consider this a tour. We're playing 5 shows in 8 days. It's been an interesting little experience. We're touring while also being full-time high school and college students. I think we're pulling it off quite well.

Our remaining tour dates are:

November 19th - The Mellow Mushroom in Tuscaloosa w/ Callooh! Callay!

This will be our first show at the Mushroom. We're tickled pink to be doing it.

November 20th - Gov't Street Grocery in Ocean Springs, MS w/ Blaine Duncan & the Lookers!

November 21st - The Blind Mule in Mobile, AL w/ Blaine Duncan & the Lookers!

This is our first coast run. We're excited to be doing it. Hopefully we will meet some new people. Just to keep things interesting.

We hope to see all your pretty faces out at any of these shows.

This blog was strictly about informing of tour dates. Bigger blog to follow at a later date.

Shout-outs:

Matt Patton - You're a killer. Thank you for jamming with us the other day on RITFW

Wes Frazer - Thanks for the sweet photo you took of us at MCW. We appreciate it.

Taste of the day -

"Marquee Moon" by Television. Incredible record. Go listen to it right now. The title track is particularly phenomenal.

-toby

News....

Hello all,

I've got some exciting news for anybody who follows this thing.

Over the past few months, we've gotten quite a few requests to put our record out on vinyl.

Well, I've got good news.

We will be putting out our first single within the next month or so.

The 7" is going to have "Little Bit Of Fiction" and "Goodbye" on it.

We're excited to be able to do this with Hackberry Records.

I've always wondered how our music would sound on the ole black circle.

Once we get them, you'll be able to buy them at our shows, as well as some music stores, such as OZ Music.

When you purchase it, you'll also get a code for a high quality uncompressed download of the single. That way you don't sacrifice quality.

We're working on shirts also. Give us time.

60 day tour coming in the summer.

SXSW submission is in.

We're working our asses off.

We're playing at "The Depot" in Tuscaloosa tomorrow night.

Come out. Throw down. Roll Tide.

Within the next week, I'll put up The Motions' picks for the top albums of the decade.

Shout out:

Josh Sahib - Otherwise known as DJ Bin Rockin. You're the man.

Sarah Walker - We haven't seen you in quite some time. We're excited to get to be in your presence again.

Egan's - The greatest place to play in the South.

James Stevens - Not only produced our record, but still helps us out whenever we need something. You're a genius.

Taste of the day:

"Brutal Youth" by Elvis Costello. A lot of people I talk to don't like this record. I, on the other hand, think it's brilliant. He spits out those words like no one else.

-themotions

Taking a month off was a ridiculously stupid idea...

Hello,

I've come to a realization; playing shows is what we're meant to do. With free time on my hands I'm bored and unhappy. So for anyone who reads this: if you come across any possible shows this month (or any month, for that matter) let us know and we'll play it. This includes house parties and anything else. Miles is out watching Wilco at the Orpheum in Memphis tonight. Sweeeeet.

Everyone else is in Columbus doing nothing productive.

In three years, we're going to buy a van, hit the road, and never look back.

I hope you all will stick with us by then.

Taste of the weekend:

"Wild Young Hearts" by Noisettes. This group is really great. Go check out their performance of "Never Forget You" on Letterman if you don't believe me. I would marry the lead singer.

Bye,

-toby

This is the only one for the week...

Hello all,

I apologize for the lack of updates this week.

It's been the most turbulent week of my life. I'd like to say my Fall break was enjoyable, however it wasn't. Maybe next week shall be better. I believe it will be.

The Motions are on an extended break right now. I don't know what the future holds for us. I'm writing songs. Whatever that means.

We have some shows in the next month. So we'll see what happens.

We're submitting to SXSW this week. Get ready Austin. We will rip that city wide open.

College is getting unbearable. It's hard to do the band and college. However, the band takes priority over college. I apologize to anyone who thinks otherwise.

Contrary to popular belief, The Motions ARE NOT breaking up. The thought hasn't even crossed our minds.

We're very young. Watch us grow up.

You can download our debut single for free at:

www.themotions.bandcamp.com

Taste of the day:

My record of the day would have to be "#1 Record" by Big Star. Big Star might be the most underrated band ever. They are incredible. "Radio City" is awesome as well. Go listen. You will be pleased.

See ya soon,

-toby

Another blahggggg.....

Hello,

I just wanted to let everyone know that we're playing a couple of shows tonight. That's right. Two shows in one night. We're like Phil Collins at Live Aid.

We're gonna kick things off at the Princess Theater in Columbus. Get there around 8:30 or so to see the full lineup. It's killer in my opinion. We'll be playing a shorter set than usual. Consider it a greatest hits set, without the hits.

Later in the night, we'll be playing at the Booth in Tuscaloosa. This place has history. It's our first time to play there and we're like a bunch of star struck kids. We're thrilled to be playing here.

We'll be playing with fellow Hackberry Records artists Callooh! Callay!. They'll kick things off around 10:30 and we shall start whenever we can get there and get everything set up. It'll be a good one ladies and gents. Come out. We adore you Tuscaloosa.

Random Thoughts:

Thom Yorke and Flea are now in a band together. Could be incredibly cool. If we have any Los Angeles readers, their first show is tonight at the Echoplex. Go check it out and report back to me. It should be phenomenal.

Taste of the day:

"The Argument" by Fugazi. Might be there best record. Definitely in my top 25 of the decade. Let's hope they put out another record. Ian McKaye, you're a genius.

No shout outs today.

Sorry.

-toby

More updates....

I have recently come to the realization that it is very convenient to update this thing while sitting in English class.

College....

I'm pretty underwhelmed by college at this point. But that's a different story for a different time.

As far as the motions go,

We're still kicking away. We've got some exciting new song ideas that I am thrilled to release to the world. The band is tighter than ever. We've started doing some weird things in a couple of old songs just to keep it interesting. Hopefully you all will enjoy it.

We're playing at the Princess Theater on Friday with a slew of bands including Winston Audio. Come see this show. They're a really fun live band.

We'll kick off around 9:30, being that we're the opener. It should be a delightful evening. Also, just because we're opening doesn't mean we will tone anything down. Expect a solid 45 minute set from us. We'll also close with a song that we haven't played in 11 months. So it should be interesting. Come by and tell us hello. I promise we will, more than likely, not hate you.

Shout outs:

Callooh! Callay! - The newest addition to the promising Hackberry Records roster. We're proud to be labelmates with these guys (and girl).

Reed Watson - For keeping the T-Town scene alive. Do it big Mr. Watson. Do it big.

Jimmy Jordan - For being the most interesting Twitterer that I follow. Check this man out. His intelligence is only rivaled by his wittiness.

Taste of the day:

"Brighten The Corners" by Pavement. This is my favorite Pavement record at the moment. I'm sure you will like it to. I'm pretty excited for NYC on September 23rd, 2010. Hell yes.

Hope all's well.

-toby