So much hotness...

Wow.  It's been so long I barely know where to start... I think I'll attempt to recover some lost time with a few shorter posts, in an effort to spread music to the masses.
I ran into this a couple months ago or so.  "Can't Stop 99 Problems" is easily one of the hottest mashups I've heard in a long time.  I apologize for not posting an actual copy of this track, but it appears to have recently become more difficult to acquire.  Regardless, you should likely get directly up on top of that.

Songs that desperately need to be arranged!

UPDATE:  9/25/2010:  #7 has been displaced!

*** PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT ***

I apologize for my extremely extended hiatus from this publication.  I'm going to try to get back on the horse on this one.  I've had this post sitting around, 60% completed or so, for a long time now.  Figured I would brush it up and get it out there since it's been on my mind.  

Oh - and if you're getting married in the foreseeable future, may I personally recommend a live band that includes guitar, bass, keys, and a 3-piece horn section?  Recently saw that shit, and it was literally the best wedding reception music I've ever heard.  Possible upcoming post on popular songs that would lend themselves nicely to brass. :-) 

If money were no object, I would quit my job and just do musical stuff in my studio all day long.  I would spin vinyl at night, and sing a cappella music on the weekends and holidays.  And life would be glorious - and I would be poor.  That all having been said, for now this list will have to suffice (until I have enough time to arrange some of these fine songs):

1.  Muse - Butterflies and Hurricanes [Absolution]:  I just haven't figured out how to handle the bridge...  But this would be epic, rivaling UPenn Off The Beat's "The Crowing" (Coheed & Cambria)
2.  Counting Crows - Butterfly in Reverse [Hard Candy]:  I've always thought this would be beautiful and moving; it's just on the outer limit of what I'm capable of arranging, harmonically-speaking.
3.  We the Kings - This Is Our Town [We the Kings]:  Ultimate group / reunion song.  Hands down.
4.  Incubus - Stellar [Make Yourself]:  Ok, so I actually started this once, but it was too early in my arranging career and I bit off more than I could chew (at the time).
5.  A Perfect Circle - 3 Libras [Mer de Noms]:  This song is tough, because Maynard's stuff is complex and weighty, both instrumentally and lyrically.  If I couldn't sell this idea to someone, I would immediately move to The Used - Blue and Yellow [The Used], which is slightly more accessible (in all conceivable ways); but what "Blue and Yellow" gains in mass appeal it loses in the majesty of a truly challenging arrangement (like when Off the Beat did "Passive" by A Perfect Circle).  I saw that live several years ago, and it blew my hair back.  It still does to this day.
6.  Chris Cornell - When I'm Down [Euphoria Morning]: Speaking of the beauty intrinsic in instrumentally-complex arrangements, "When I'm Down" is easily my favorite song off any of Chris Cornell's solo albums.  His personal breadth in his music writing is really admirable, and this song uniquely highlights that diversity.  (For those of you who live on another planet or in some musical anechoic hole in the ground, Chris Cornell played in Soundgarden and Audioslave, and wrote the James Bond theme from Casino Royale.  Not the kind of guy you usually think of for power blues rock ballads.)
7.  Dream Theater - Wither [Black Clouds & Silver Linings]:  UPDATE - 9/25/2010:  I was just driving back from a day of climbing in Rochester when this came on my Fall playlist.  Wither would be the perfect post-rock ballad!  Special shout-outs go to the singer assigned the twenty-second guitar solo starting at 4:00 and the harmony during the choruses.  Mark my words:  this arrangement would be epic.
8.  Cartel - The Fortunate [Cartel]:  Best. Bass line.  Ever.  If only I had thought of this when the album was still fresh...  This one I'm legitimately disappointed I didn't think of until now.
9.  The Bravery - Time Won't Let Me Go [The Sun and the Moon]:  Simple and fun; low-key verses; good tenor solo; great chorus harmony; and infectiously catchy riffs.  Free bonus: includes "Breakfast at Tiffany's" style guitar licks (likely for the altos).  PS - if you don't absolutely love this song... I don't know... we likely have musical issues between us.  Nothing personal, I just might question your musical tastes... (just kidding... sort of.)
10. STATEPARK - Countless [Send to a Heart Convalescent]:  We'll close on a sentimental note:

"Numbered hellos and countless goodbyes

The story never changed
I can't help but miss that look in your eyes
When we say goodbye again

Goodbye..."

HONORABLE MENTION: Boys Like Girls - Two Is Better Than One [Love Drunk]:  Normally, I'm against any and all things even obliquely related to Taylor Swift.  However, for all their ultra-pop nonsense, Boys Like Girls are pretty damn catchy.  For anyone who remembers Beyond Unison's rendition of "Falling Slowly" - this could be the next big male/female heart-breaker duet.  It would have made the list if the band ever came in a-blazin' (for an example of this phenomenon, see The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Your Guardian Angel [Don't You Fake It], right at 2:29), but they only ever seem to put out at about 80%.  ...of course, an arranger could always correct that shortcoming. ;-)

Cheers all,

-JB