Well I have been challenged by Andy to write an entry where I don�t mention anything sexual especially my sexual organ located in the lower abdominal area. I figured this would be easy to accomplish with a simple entry like �today was nice�, but he qualified the dare by demanding that it be at LEAST 500 words in duration. Being one with great endurance I accepted him on this challenge. So I sat and thought LONG and HARD about what on earth I could talk about that would fit into the TIGHT parameters that he has set for me. And as HARD as I tried it just didn�t COME to mind. So I figured I would sleep on IT and hopefully it would COME in the morning, which it usually does first thing when I wake up. And this morning was no exception. I have decided that I would do a G rated entry on rating the Best and Worst Cd�s that I have purchased this year. This should be a piece of cake! So without any further ado�I present to you the best and worst the Music World had to offer me in 2004�let the word counting start�..NOW!

RATINGS SYSTEM
Four Stars � Drop everything you are doing. Stop downloading you know what and get out to the store and get this CD NOW!
Three Stars � Drop everything you are doing. Nah on second thought, just get this whenever you feel like it its not THAT big a deal.
Two Stars � Keep on downloading you know what, but if you can get a free copy its worth it.
One Star � Only if you�re a fan of Josh Groban, would you like such tripe!
Zero Stars � Only if you think I am cool would you be so na�ve as to like this.

Ozomatli; Street Signs - Not there best effort but have to like any cd put out by these guys. Their Latino lead singer (sings in Spanish most of the time) has got one of the best voices in music. Their mix of salsa/rap/rock is certainly one of the most original sounds out there so if you have never heard of this band and want something good to hear check em out! But for my tastes their self titled first cd is their best�.*** 3 STARS.

Jimmy Sturr; Giant Polka Hits and Melodies - If you are a fan of the Polka go out and get this cd now! If you have never heard of the polka go out and get this cd now! If you have heard of it and find it absurd go out and get this cd now! Jimmy is to the Polka what Hendrix was to the Rock Guitar. Jimmy is to Polka what Zamphir is to the Pan Flute. For that matter Jimmy is to Polka what Andy has been to Diaryland�pure GENIUS!....****4 STARS.

Green Day; American Idiot - I would say that before this album came out I was a casual Green Day fan. Never saw them in concert but had a few of their mp3s, and their Greatest Hit type cd, International Superhits. But I figured I would give their latest cd a shot, and I am glad I did, its freaking awesome. Seems to be more of a serious effort than many of their other cds. Even has a couple of songs that are over 9 minutes in length. And let me tell you 9 minutes is a LONG time. I�m more used to them lasting about 23 seconds or so�but I digress. This is a GREAT cd and I demand everyone to get it!....****4 Stars.

Ok just an aside here for a bit, this is very tough not talking about you know what and my you know what and not using bad words and stuff. So if you haven�t fallen asleep by now, please know that I am struggling here, but tomorrow im back to the P$%*s and F%$&*ng and stuff. So rest assured, all will be well in the world again!

David Hasselhoff; Sings America - Now if you do one thing this year, I would say that one thing would be to breathe. But if you do lots of things this year, I would say that one of those things should be to go out to the closest record store and buy this cd. Nobody can get down and funky quite like Knight Rider. On this cd, Mr. Hasslehoff is accompanied by KIT on the hit �Hot Rod Trans Am�. It is an especially neat effect to hear Dave belt out �My pappy said son you gonna drive me to drinking�if you don�t stop driving that�� when then KIT chimes in with �WOO WOO WOO WOO� at which point Dave belts out �HOT ROD TRANS AM!!!��.sigh. A rock and roll classic indeed! Best kept secret in America in my opinion. Just ask the musically genius folk of Germany! Hasslehoff is one of the biggest attractions there, and if any country knows anything about Rock and Roll it is them! Accept, The Scorpions, Trio and Nena to name a few!....**********10 STARS!!!! Off the freaking charts this one is!

Cd�s That All Make Me Uncool, But I Like Anyway - Bowling for Soup� as I have mentioned in previous entries, they are perhaps my guiltiest of pleasures. I know they aren�t really that good and don�t really know why I like them, but I�m growing more and more convinced that Eating paint chips as a youth was NOT a good idea!
Good Charlotte� I actually am the proud owner of all 3 of their cd�s. The latest being The Chronicles of Life and Death. I went to see them and 8 other bands a couple weeks ago, as I described in this lousy entry. And I thought that they were one of the best bands there! They are local to my area, so maybe I�m just a homer, but they are fun! BTW my goddaughter says this makes me a �poser��.sigh.
Jimmy Eat World� They were one of the bands at the aforementioned concerts and I went out and bought their latest cd, Futures a few days before the concert so that I would be familiar with at least a few of these bands, and I have to say that I enjoy them as well. They put on a good show and were the only ones to do a Christmas song (a cover of the Wham! Classic, Last Christmas.
The Killers�.Yet another band that I saw at the concert, they were cool cause they dressed up in suits, and seemed like they were beamed to this century straight from the �80s. I went out the next week, and picked up their CD Hot Fuss and recommend it highly. Meaning I am high right now on white out, so maybe that is why I am recommending that to you� I dunno.
So, in short, I recommend all the aforementioned CD�s, however you may not want to tell anyone that you like them�just say they were a gift or something and that you never listen to them!

Which brings me to my final CD Review�

Rhi O�Malley; Rocking n Rolling - I was just going to simply do a five word review on this one��Rock and Roll Masterpiece�. The way I see it you have Pink Floyd�s The Wall, Led Zeppelin�s second album, Frank Zappa�s Joe�s Garage and now this latest offering from Rhiannen. She takes Rock and Roll to soaring new heights, covering classic rock songs from the 80�s and early 90�s and mixing in an original of her own. The disk starts off with a bang with her stirring rendition of Whitesnake�s �Here I go Again� and ends with her own original power ballad, �Hopelessly in Lust With Pat and His Youknowwhat�. But perhaps the strongest track on the cd is her collaboration with Kip Winger.

Kip plays bass guitar on the rockingly fun �Pat�s Only 17�����.inches�. Sure to be up there with �Stairway to Heaven� in the annals of Rock n Rock classics!