I have been exposed to top 40 music this year more than in recent years.  This can be almost completely attributed to my group of friends here in Albuquerque.  I must say I've become more of a fan of pop music because of it.  That being said, I decided to look at the Billboard Top 100 for 2011 and pick my favorite 25.  The Billboard chart ranks the most popular songs across all genres based on placing on the weekly charts throughout the year.  There are certainly several songs I don't know, but many that I do.  I found around 35-40 that I truly enjoyed and ranked a top 25 from that.  I believe some of these songs have been overplayed and I won't listen to them as much now, but I tried to be fair to each song and forget I've heard some of them too much.

Below is the ranking from 25-1.  I also have in parenthesis each song's ranking on the Billboard 100.

25(19). F*cking Perfect - Pink

I've always been a casual fan of Pink, meaning I never listen to her extensively but I usually like her hits.  She had another single on the charts this year (Raise Your Glass), but I liked this song just a bit more.

24(33). Blow - Ke$ha

There is no denying that Ke$ha is pretty trashy, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying her music.  It's always catchy and upbeat and great to listen to in a club or at a party.  Blow has a solid beat, plus the first word of the whole song is "Dance."  That's a good sign going into a song.

23(48). You Make Me Feel... - Cobra Starship feat. Sabi

This is in no way my favorite Cobra Starship song, as I've been a fan of theirs for a number of years now.  It does however hold up well against many of the other songs on the Billboard 100.  The intro of the song makes me think it's a Rihanna song, but then the first verse kicks in.

22(8). Super Bass - Nicki Minaj

I've only heard a few things by Nicki Minaj, but this seems to me like more of a pop song than the others.  Nicki reminds me a lot of Missy Elliot.  There really isn't any other female rappers out there doing what Nicki is right now.  She has such a unique sound that hooks me more every time I listen.

21(52). Just A Dream - Nelly

What year is this, 2003?  I didn't expect to care too much for a new Nelly song, but this one is quite good.

20(18). Born This Way - Lady Gaga

Going into 2011 I definitely wasn't a Lady Gaga fan.  I still don't consider myself a fan.  I did however have to be exposed to her almost nonstop anytime I was around my friends.  Our kickball team planned a flash mob to Bad Romance while we were at the national tournament in Vegas this year.  I swear there seems to be a new Lady Gaga song every couple of weeks.  The one on this year's charts that stands out the most to me is Born This Way, which I would think was a Madonna if I didn't already know.

19(70). Pretty Girl Rock - Keri Hilson

I don't really know Keri Hilson, but I'd say she's quite confident with herself by listening to this song.  It's basically about her being pretty ("Don't hate me cause I'm beautfiul" or "Girls think I'm conceited cause I know I'm attractive").  I normally wouldn't care for a song with it's lyrics, but it is very catchy.

18(24). Someone Like You - Adele

If I had to list artists who I believe were the breakout artists of the year, number one would probably be Adele slightly over LMFAO.  She has been around for a few years and won a couple Grammys back in 2009, but 2011 definitely belongs to Adele.  She has had a few hit singles this year and seems to be adored by all.  Her voice is incredible and her music, unlike many on this list, is more quality than infectious.  This is her hit love ballad that is very good, but not my favorite of her songs.  Every time I hear this song I think of my friend Lucas singing it at karaoke.

17(30). We R Who We R - Ke$ha

Another song from Ke$ha, I like this one a bit more than Blow.

16(32). Tonight Tonight - Hot Chelle Rae

I have never heard of Hot Chelle Rae until earlier this year.  And though they had the #32 song of the year, I don't think I ever really heard it anywhere in public.  I discovered it looking at Billboard charts this summer, but I guess it just never caught on with my group of friends.

15(64). Bottoms Up - Trey Songz feat. Nicki Minaj

I don't know anything else by Trey Songz, but I like this one.  This was also my introduction to Nicki Minaj, who is out of her mind.

14(97). Animal - Neon Trees

It's always good to see some non-club songs reaching the Billboard charts.  I do like Neon Trees and their entire album is pretty good.

13(6). Grenade - Bruno Mars

I find this to be a powerful song.  Part of it might be because I feel like I can relate to it right now.  I'm not as familiar with Bruno Mars's other songs, but I'm thinking I should listen to them more.

12(9). Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera

I once liked Maroon 5, when their first single Harder to Breathe came out.  Then for some reason I began to dislike them.  I wanted to much to hate this song, but I have to admit that I don't.  It is incredibly infectious.  I can't really explain it, but it's hard to not want to move to this song.  It doesn't mean I'm going to change my opinion of Maroon 5, but I can like this son.

11(44). Dynamite - Taio Cruz

This song has a great beat to dance to.  I think the coolest thing is that each chorus starts with a great opportunity to stop dancing and yell out the lyrics into the sky before getting back into the dance beat. 

10(4). E.T. - Katy Perry feat. Kanye West

I was completely over Katy Perry last year, but then something happened.  I really started enjoying her new songs.  I also am not much of a Kanye West fan, but the combo of the two and the unique sci-fi sound makes this a great song.

9(93). Price Tag - Jessie J feat. B.o.B.

Here's another case of an artists I know nothing else about.  I really like the reggae sound of this song and the breakdown with B.o.B.

8(2). Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO feat Lauren Benett and GoonRock

I knew of LMFAO prior to this year because of I'm in Miami, but I wasn't really hooked.  I took notice to Party Rock Anthem when I saw the video, which involves a zombie-like apocalypse where everyone dances.  It's mesmerizing watching the incredible dance moves and mash-ups of different iconic dances in the video.

7(57). Sexy and I Know It - LMFAO

LMFAO's follow-up to Party Rock Anthem was Sexy and I Know It.  I can't help but think these two guys are having so much more fun than every other artist out there.  These back-to-back hits are incredibly catchy and fun.  When these songs come on everyone gets up and starts moving.  I also am impressed that they have a line in this song referencing the awesome 1985 urban kung-fu movie The Last Dragon ("And like Bruce Leroy I got the glow").

6(14). Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) - Katy Perry

Katy Perry surprised me again with this fun anthem to the weekend.  The video is even better, featuring cameos from Kenny G, Corey Feldman, Debbie Gibson, some kid from Glee and YouTube sensation Rebecca Black.

5(72). Like a G6 - Far*East Movement feat. Cataracs and Dev

This was the first electronic/dance song I really enjoyed, even before LMFAO's two-headed monster.  It's a great party/club song and hard not to move to.

4(62). What the Hell - Avril Lavigne

I have been a fan of Avril Lavigne since her debut "Complicated" back in 2002.  I even went to see her in a very small club in Providence, RI around then.  She has been sort of a guilty pleasure of mine through the years.  Both this and her other new single Smile are good songs that bring me back to her early days.

3(1). Rolling in the Deep - Adele

This song sounds like it could have come out of a past decade.  Adele's soulful voice combined with the upbeat drums and piano in this song are awesome.  There's a reason this was the song of the year on the Billboard charts.

2(13). Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People

I have a hard time putting this song so high on the list.  I really like Foster the People and enjoyed seeing them this summer, but this song as well as the number one song are so overplayed.  "Pumped Up Kicks" is not my favorite Foster the People song, but it's near the top.  What amazes me the most is that this song with such dark lyrics has become such a commercial hit.

1(7). F*ck You - Cee Lo Green

Though he may have been my least-favorite performer at Lollapalooza this year, this song is incredibly good.  It has both the original version and a radio friendly version that is equally as good.  Everyone loves this song.  It comes on and everyone just wants to sing along.  He may not be the best live performer, but Cee Lo definitely knows how to write a good song.

This past January I posted a picture of my brother and me with Chewbacca at Disney World.  The picture was taken when we were kids, and it marked the beginning of my monthly posts of old picutres of myself.  It has been fun looking through old photo albums and boxes of pictures.  The below picture is the twelfth (didn't realize how odd that word looks) post of this nature.  I've met my goal, though I plan on continuing with this trend.  It's fun to find new old pictures to share, and hopefully you enjoy looking at them.

Another great thing about doing this is observing the background of old photos.  In this case, I love seeing floppy disk drives!  If you're wondering, that's Orel Hershiser's Strike Zone that I used to play all the time on that state-of-the-art (Ha!) computer. 

If you want to see my previously posted old pics, click on the "Photos" link in the header.

38. Watch 5 films from IMDB's "Bottom 100" list that I haven't seen (3/5)

When I first set out to watch films on the IMDB Bottom 100, I figured I could still be mildly entertained with most of these films.  I am in fact a big fan of low-budget and B-grade films (especially horror).  I have a couple of Albuquerque-based low-budget horror films in my personal top 100, but those do have quality scripts and good characters.

The first two Bottom 100 films I watched, Disaster Movie and Epic Movie, are by no means good movies but did produce a few quality laughs.  I will probably review those films at some point so look for that in the future.     

I realized I needed to back away from the “_____ Movie” films however as they are safe bets to be entertaining and I probably wouldn’t get the full spectrum of viewer-rated crappiness.  I am always on the lookout for movies streaming on Netflix that I want to watch and I happened upon one of the Bottom 100…Zombie Nation.  I figured it’s a low-budget zombie film so I would still probably enjoy it.  I also don’t like to bash movies too much as it takes a lot of hard work to write and produce a quality film, but I can’t help but pick on this one.

Keep in mind I am giving away key points to the film, so if you want to watch this film you probably shouldn’t read on.  However, I promise what you read below will be more entertaining and less time consuming than actually watching the film.

The opening credits threw me for a loop.  With names like Ulli Lommel, Günther Ziegler, Szilvi Naray-Davey and Jürg V. Walther I started to think this was a foreign film.  Then it started and it was in English and taking place in California.  Though when I say it was an English, keep in mind that some of the actors clearly don’t use English as a first language.

The story is about a bad cop named Joe Singer who takes women he pulls over (in the least-convincing police car I’ve ever seen) to a warehouse where he examines them, gives them a shot of something, puts them in a duffle bag and buries them somewhere.  What’s more absurd is during these encounters he has a young partner with him who stands outside the warehouse and doesn’t really question what’s going on, what’s in the duffle bag or where the women went.  As the film progresses the partner eventually expresses his concerns to the Chief, but that leads to some of the policemen invading his home in masks and beating him.  The partner is then inexplicably absent for the rest of the film without any mention and replaced by another young cop.

Speaking of the cops, the “police station” looks like they set up a few desks in a warehouse.  It’s awful.  The Chief, Singer and some other cops apparently served together overseas so they look out for each other, leaving the young cops to fend for themselves.

Later in the film a woman who is worried about the women being kidnapped goes to some voodoo priestesses and they put a spell on her.  Of course she eventually is captured by Singer and killed.  Then her and for some reason all the other victims come back from the dead to get their revenge.  These “zombies” talk like normal human beings and are portrayed as zombies with black circles around their eyes.  Classic!  The zombies don't show up until the final twenty minutes of the film and spend half of their on-screen time discussing how they can live in this world now that they are zombies.  They eventually get their revenge in the final minutes of the movie, then find their new calling as police women.  Perfect. 

There are some other things I could talk about like the terrible soundtrack, flashbacks of Singer as a kid watching his mother beat people in an asylum, the random policeman fight club or the two other victims of the zombies, but there really is no point.

I usually find it difficult to rate a film really low, but I easily gave this one 1 out of 10 stars on IMDB.