The Arcade Fire's "Funeral"

With the impending end of the first decade of the century looming in the distance, all one can do is take a look back at the last 10 years in music and create another list, this one ranking the best 30 albums of the last decade (With a sentence of explanation for the first 15).

1. The Arcade Fire – Funeral

This album made baroque pop cool again, something that seemed unachievable after the Beach Boys fell apart.

2. Ryan Adams – Gold

Gold is alternative country at its very best, chocked full of sublime instrumentation and sentimental lyrics.

3. Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions

The Boss sings Pete Seeger and brilliance results; there is something fantastic about the combination of Springsteen’s voice and Seeger’s lyrics.

4. Yeasayer – All Hours Cymbals

All Hours Cymbals is an album for the decade lyrically, thematically, and instrumentally.

5. Jonsi and Alex – Riceboy Sleeps

Jonsi and Alex’s post-rock/ambient masterpiece is an album to listen to all the way through (8+ times) to really catch it’s flavor.

6. Radiohead – In Rainbows

Radiohead offered this album to the public using a “Pay what you want” system; this album is by far the most cost-effective offering of the last decade.

7. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Indie pop with depth and from France? Sounds like a winner to me.

8. David Sanford & The Pittsburgh Collective – Live at the Knitting Factory, NYC

A Jazz album of famous classical songs, it is bizarre at first but develops into hands down the best live album I heard over the past 10 years.

9. Seabear – The Ghost that Carried Us Away

Simple melodies and thoughtful lyrics make this an album to listen to again and again and again.

10. DJ Danger Mouse – The Grey Album

The Grey Album brought the Mash-Up genre to forefront and paved the way for many other artists, such as Girl Talk and Super Mash Brothers, to craft what might amount to the music of the decade.

11. Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III

Tha Carter III is a Hip Hop opus. It’s really everything I look for on a rap album.

12. Bjork – Vespertine

Since the breakup of the Sugarcubes, Bjork has morphed her music into a alt-dance-pop genre that is all her own, this album is a true testament to that.

13. Jens Lekman – Night Falls over Kortedala

Soft and low-fi, Jens Lekman’s awkward lyrics, high tenor vocals, and orchestral instrumentation are a beautiful combination on this album.

14. Sigur Ros – Takk….

The name of the album means “Thank You.” Indeed this album is worthy of thanks from all of mankind.

15. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

This is dream-Pop’s finest offering – ever.

16. Amadou & Mariam – Welcome to Mali

17. Gui Boratto – Chromophobia

18. Sufjan Stevens – Come on Feel the Illinoise

19. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive

20. The Shins – Wincing the Night Away

21. M83 – Saturdays = Youth

22. Brian Wilson – Smile

23. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

24. TV on the Radio – Dear Science

25. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

26. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes

27. Yelle – Pop Up

28. Gregory and the Hawk – Moenie and Kitchi

29. Sin Fang Bous – Clangour

30. Noah and the Whale – The First Days of Spring

Honorable Mention:
Beach House – Devotion; Death Cab for Cutie – Transatlanticism; Familjen – Det Snurrar I Min Skalle; Feist – The Reminder; Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova – Once; Justice – Cross; Karen O and the Kids – Where the Wild Things Are; MGMT – Oracular Spectacular; Okkervil River – The Stand Ins; Ray LaMontagne – Gossip in the Grain; Tokyo Police Club – Elephant Shell; Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend; Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer

-Doug Ray

Doug Ray is the co-host of Saltimbocca & Escargot, Sundays at 8-10 PM Eastern Time on WRBC.

2009 has come and gone.  It’s been a hell of a year, and a hell of a decade.  Music has taken an encouraging turn to quality this decade, and 2009 was a year full of all the surprises, excitement, and disappointment that we’ve come to expect from the roaring 2000s.  Here then, is Never Learned to Swim’s Top 50 Songs of 2009:

1.    White Rabbits – “Percussion Gun”
2.    Phoenix – “1901”
3.    Mew – “New Terrain”
4.    Mos Def – “Life In Marvelous Times”
5.    Animal Collective – “My Girls”
6.    Dirty Projectors – “Stillness is the Move”
7.    Grizzly Bear – “Two Weeks”
8.    Islands – “Switched On”
9.    Passion Pit – “Moth’s Wings”
10.    The XX – “VCR”
11.    Girls – “Lust For Life”
12.    John Mayer – “Heartbreak Warfare”
13.    Dodos – “Fables”
14.    The National – “Ashamed of the Story I Told”
15.    Sea Wolf – “White Water, White Bloom”
16.    Phoenix – “Lisztomania”
17.    The Temper Trap – “Sweet Disposition”
18.    Radiohead – “These Are My Twisted Words”
19.    Bon Iver – “Woods”
20.    Yeasayer – “Tightrope”
21.    N.A.S.A. (featuring Kanye West and Santigold) – “Gifted”
22.    Japandroids – “The Boys Are Leaving Town”
23.    The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Don’t Haunt This Place”
24.    Animal Collective – “Bluish”
25.    Ben Gibbard and Feist – “Train Song”
26.    Wilco – “Wilco”
27.    Kid Cudi – “Day ‘n’ Nite”
28.    HEALTH – Die Slow
29.    Bat for Lashes – “Daniel”
30.    Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Zero”
31.    Franz Ferdinand – “Turn It On”
32.    A Sunny Day In Glasgow – “The White Witch”
33.    Julian Casablancas – “Out of the Blue”
34.    Dan Deacon – “Slow With Horns / Run For Your Life”
35.    The Decemberists – “Annan Water”
36.    Bon Iver – “Blood Bank”
37.    Fred – “Skyscrapers”
38.    St. Vincent – “Laughing With a Mouth of Blood”
39.    Apostle of Hustle – “Xerses”
40.    Spoon – “Written In Reverse”
41.    The Whitest Boy Alive – “1517”
42.    Sufjan Stevens – “You Are the Blood”
43.    Clipse (featuring Kanye West) – “Kinda Like a Big Deal”
44.    A.C. Newman – “The Heartbreak Rides”
45.    Telekinesis – “Coast of Carolina”
46.    The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Everything With You”
47.    Silversun Pickups – “Panic Switch”
48.    Bill Callahan – “Faith / Void”
49.    Harlem Shakes – “Sunlight”
50.    Brendan Benson – “Garbage Day”

-pradip chandrasoma

One quick note to remind you that for my singles lists I always disqualify any song from an album that makes my best album lists — this gives me the chance to highlight a larger amount of music and keeps things from being bogged down with the same representation of artists.

20) His Master’s Voice – Monsters of Folk
This album closer from the side-project super-group is repeat-button worthy. Lyrics of “Mohammed rolling dice with Christ” roll into a melody quite ethereal that conjures the great explorations of pop musicians fumbling with God of the past. The rest of the album’s good, but the best follow up to this amazing song is the “Tribute” EP that Jim James (of this group and My Morning Jacket) released this year– it covers George Harrison songs stripped down and acoustic and it’s a must-own (just be prepared to look under “Yim Yames” to find it).

19) Queen of the Supermarket – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Okay, I’ll admit that when I first heard this song I thought it was maybe the weakest track on “Working on a Dream.” It felt off and close to cheesy. But the more I heard it and the more I listened through it all the way through to the closing notes and the check-out scanning sound effects, the more I loved it. It’s the attention to detail and the authenticity it contains, it’s like a heartfelt short story of love and longing based in vivid reality that should be mundane if it weren’t presented with such passion. There are great moments all over the album and it’s sad not to put my favorite artists work on my top 10 album list, but the competition was just too fierce this year and for me this album as a whole had a couple of weak links on it in which it didn’t measure up to its past few predecessors; had every moment on the album evoked this much emotion and adult-pop sensibility, I’d have been forced to throw it at the top.

18) Best I Ever Had – Drake
Drake, an alum of the best teenage melodrama soap of all time (Degrassi) caught the attention of Lil Wayne and Young Money with his rapping skills, got signed, blew up all over the internet and released the entertaining EP “So Far Gone” this year. He’s not the next Pac, Kanye or Q-tip; he lacks the street cred for “Gangsta rep” and the political consciousness of Protest Rap, the quirkiness of backpack rap, etc. al. Yet he does have clear skill, and this pop rap track about a romantic liaison was one of the best summer songs this year. Find your niche and take it for all it’s worth, Drake.

17)  Neighbor’s Know My Name – Trey Songz
Trey has promise but clutters his album with the occasional guest spot of a terrible rapper (Gucci Mane, who deserves to be in prison by the way) or an asinine chorus (pick a track at random off the final quarter of the album). But when he’s on, he’s on, as this catchy, fun, ridiculous, silly and dirty pop single proves. Does he sing these things with a straight-face? Does he read the lyrics of early R Kelly albums as if they were scripture? The verdict is still out.

16) Shining Down – Lupe Fiasco

Lupe released this single back in the late summer to tease the upcoming “Lazers” album that has yet to emerge (it’s now currently due in January). It’s not on par with his 2 full length albums he’s had thus far, but it features a great hook by Matthew Santos and enough Lupe wit to keep us ready to hear another proper full-length release from the best and most politically conscious young MC out right now. He followed the momentum by crafting a 25 minute show-off set of rhymes on the Thanksgiving-day released mixtape “Enemy of the State: A Love Story.” Now get the album out, Lupe!

15) Lungs – Steve Earle

Earle’s new “Townes” record (which is a collection of cover songs by Steve of his idol and deceased friend Townes Van Zandt) was on my list at one point–ironically it was upstaged by Earle’s son (who in another ironic note is named after Townes Van Zandt). This is the best moment on that record, a short quick blast of a song that stands out in large part by the layer of distortion, murk and fury courtesy of Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine.

14) I And Love And You- The Avett Brothers

The Avett brothers, for whatever reason, tend to invite freakish levels of devotion and adoration in most of their fans. Their music is good– a palatable and inviting blend of modern alt-country and folk– and this song brings out all of their best qualities at once.

13) Know Your Enemy – Green Day

A punky, repititive, fist-in-the-air track that rocks like the Clash and the Ramones off of Green Day’s latest rock opera outing, “21st Century Breakdown.” Go ahead, “Give me revolution!”

12) Two Weeks – Grizzly Bear

“Vecktameist” was a fine album this year, but there were a few somehwhat snooze-worthy sections on it. This song is the major highlight (followed closely by “Southern Point”) a harmony-layered romp through what sounds like late 60s era Laurel Canyon.  A gorgeous song that is a little bit better each time you hear it but one that also feels familiar on the first spin.

11) Rebels – Drive by Truckers

Taken from the odds’n’sods rarities collection DBT released this year, this cover of an old Tom Petty song rocks stronger than I can possibly describe here. These lyrics were made to be sung by Patterson Hood– now that I’ve heard their version I’m thinking it had to have been their song all along.

10) Meet Me on the Equinox – Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab didn’t release a full album this year but remained consistently present; they released a nice 5 song EP, “The Open Window” as well as this terrific single which ended up on the “Twilight-New Moon” soundtrack (which was inexplicably loaded with new music by indie bands). So the best thing to emerge fromt that clustermug mess of vampire-lite was a decent soundtrack, and this is the best moment from that. It ranks with Death Cab’s finest singles containing lyrics a bit more gothic than usual and a melody that taps in with it perfectly, crooned by Gibbard who sounds in fine form.

9) Got Nuffin – Spoon

Spoon key up a bouncy bass guitar beat and make an indie hipster dance out of lyrics about having “nuffin” to lose but “darkness and shadows.” Dance hipsters,dance!

8 ) California – Wild Light

This poppy sing-along song will run circles around your memory, getting you to sing along with a profanity laden chant deriding the entire state of California before you realize what you’re saying. It’s like the Beach Boys cussing uncles formed a band.

7) Blood Bank – Bon Iver

Iver’s most emotionally connectional song to date is a haunting ballad about a couple seemingly falling for each other in line to give blood. This is folk music for the 21st century and it sticks with you as soon as you hear it.

6) DOA – Jay Z

Jay dropped “The Blueprint 3″ which played like a string of great singles, at least in its first half. The best of those (although a close second, so close it almost brushes up against it is “Run This Town”) is this one, an almost tossed off  braggadocio mic control fest by Jay showing off and urging the death of mediocrity and banal repetitiveness that is evident in the myriad of auto-tune hip-pop singles cluttering the airwaves of the 2000s. The horns hit here, accenting the raps perfectly.

5) Sugarfoot – Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears

This group flew out of Nashville to start making the closest thing to funk and rhythym perfection since James Brown passed on. “Sugarfoot” is the funnest, loudest and most exuberant track off the excellent as a whole “Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is” album. This song was given away promotionally from a lot of magazines and web music download services this year, so if you missed it then just  buy it now because it’s freaking awesome.

4) Unity – Trevor Hall

I cringed when I found out that Trevor Hall was a white guy in a Buddhist monastery in southern california, especially when I saw photos of him and he looked like a hippy version of Kurt Cobain. I did so because listening to this song, he sounds Jamaican. Something about aping reggae culture right down to vocal inflections that aren’t naturally yours doesn’t quite set right with me. That being said, this songs is near perfect. It’s such a well of spirtual power, a call to sacred religous universalism sung and played in such a stirring, powerful way. The rest of the album might not be worth much, but this song justifies Trevor’s attempt at sacred art.

3) The Fixer – Pearl Jam

Eddie Vedder roars like always but the band tigtens up and plays loud, fast and furious, moreso than ever before, getting right to the point. The lyrics are the most upbeat and poisitive of perhaps any Pearl Jam single ever, all about “fighting to get it back again, ” cleaning up the dirty, finding the lost, making things fixed and new. A timely song if ever there was one for anyone feeling like it’s well past time to do something relevant and meaningful in the world.

2) French Navy – Camera Obscura
God this song is pretty. It sounds like a Phil Spector produced ’60s girl pop record that would have been a smash back then but it sounds fresh and timeless today as well. The strings are so poppy, the vocals delicious. Play it on repeat and I guarantee you’ll be in a good mood.

1) My Girls – Animal Collective
A big, joyous dance song. “I don’t mean to seem like I care about material things,” they sing. “I just want four walls and adobe slabs for my girls!” It’s a trippy, freak folk dance song about a man providing for his family that just happens to be the catchiest song of the year.

Hey, like I said, blame Spotify for me not getting round to hearing a ton of new music this year. I spent much of 2009 engrossed in the back catalogues of Spoon, Les Savy Fav, Beck and Yo La Tengo, so you can understand why a lot of trendy young things passed me by.

So, from now till the end of the year, I hereby promise to – at the very least – listen to the following albums of 2009 that my friends have been haranguing me for avoiding:

The Mountain Goats – The Life Of The World To Come

Girls – Album

Japandroids – Post-Nothing

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms

Passion Pit – Manners

Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains

A Sunny Day In Glasgow – Ashes Grammar

Volcano Choir – Unmap

JJ – JJ N° 2

These are some of my favourite songs… a good playlist for any occasion.

Ambling Alp – Yeasayer

Asleep - The Smiths

This Charming Man – The Smiths

Bohemian like you – The Dandy Warhols

Radio Christine – The Virgins

Let it Fall – Lykki Li

Islands – The XX

Teardrops – The XX

Fire – Kasabian

You can have it all – Yo La Tengo

Hey – The Pixies

Debaser – The Pixies

The Fun Powder Plot – Wild Beasts

Toothpaste Kisses – The Maccabees

Changes – Van she

Pressure – Queen & David Bowie

Peace Frog – The Doors

Love will tear us apart – Joy Division

Disorder – Joy Division

Causes = Time – Broken Social Scene

Best of me – Jeff Buckley

Last Goodbye – Jeff Buckley

Rock the Casbah – The Clash

Cannonball – The Breeders

Heartbeats – José González

First train home – Imogen Heap

Shut up and sleep with me – Belle and Sebastian

The Underdog – Spoon

Dreamworld – Rilo Kiley

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa – Vampire Weekend

Burning – The Whitest Boy Alive

Wild World – Cat Stevens

Peace Train – Cat Stevens

Remember me – Tame Impala

Keep the car running – Arcade Fire

Walk on the wild side – Lou Reed

ATTENTION:

This is a joke! It’s a parody because the whole bloody letter thing is beyond freaky and it’s gross.

DO NOT take this seriously… we’re not attention seekers either, alright? -_-;;;

We just thought it’d be funny to make stupid letters because we were bored.

Although… the words on mine came out more serious. XD They were more joking before though.

See. XDD Mmmm… Ketchup!

Sorry if anyone gets mad. It’s just a joke!

ANYWAY!!

I haven’t posted anything in a while… So I figure I can talk about the bloody letter trend.

XDDDD

Poor Ok TaecYeon was the first victim. T~T

And then how many others after? 5?

That’s so messed up. I mean… no one has beat period blood girl YET.

But we’ll just have to wait and see.

But in spirit of the trend (after allkpop’s most recent update on the letters for GD & TaeYang)

Me & Mai decided to make our own!! XDD

Our letters to Ok TaecYeon & Hwang ChanSung!!! XDDDD

I know. You’d swear mine is real!! Thank you internet for teaching me how to make fake wounds~ You can see the vaseline I used to make it in the picture where I’m cutting my wrist with a spoon. And my arm is stained now. XD As you can see, I almost put my cut on the wrong way. I almost went “down the road” instead of “across the street”. HAHA~

CLICK FOR FULL SIZE~

Thank you~

-allyssa.

Uncensored: so u know i am 4 real

XDD Isn’t it great? You can see the tissue coming up though.

I ended up peeling it off afterwards and putting it on the note. XDDD

Just in case you need MORE proof… XDD

How I made it… http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/fakewounds.htm

Here he is with his Masterpiece work of spoons. I believe he found every spoon— both soup and tea, and put them on this chair or on the hardwood floors. Such a cutie!

I know this is old news, but I’m just amazed at how good Spoon’s 2007 album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is. I was listening to it today with a friend who’s also an intense fan, and it had been so long since I’ve sung along to Underdog and all of that… It just felt so good to do it again. I don’t know why its critical acclaim wasn’t surprisingly high, although it was considerably good; I just think the tracks in it are so delicious, in a way, to listen to, that it should have had greater recognition. These are the ones I like the best.

The Underdog (3:42)

You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb (3:09)

On another note, I have actual proof that Jim Morrison is a genius now. He used to say that “some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts”, and today I think that that was possibly the biggest mistake of my entire life. It sounds shallow, but it’s just so… bad.

Alexandra Patsavas licensing indie rock for TV and movies like a boss; image courtesy of letterstotwilight.wordpress.com

I’ve been thinking about Alexandra Patsavas for a long time. She started blipping on my radar during the first season of The O.C., which she helped make a phenomenon early in the show’s run. She’s worked similar magic for Grey’s Anatomy and collaborates with creator Josh Schwartz, who also gave us The O.C., Chuck, Gossip Girl, and Rockville CA. Her credits are all over network and cable television. She’s also worked in film, most notably with the Twilight franchise.

Patsavas in between Josh Schwartz and Kaiser Chiefs' lead singer Ricky Wilson; image courtesy of pedrowatcher.freedomblogging.com

What does she do, you ask? She’s a music supervisor, and one of the few women to rise to such prominence in the industry. The role of music supervisor has expanded considerably in the past fifteen years or so to include legal finagling with record labels. I’d also argue that their role, depending on the project and the collaborative spirit of a director or show runner, warrants entitlement to authorial claims. As such, Patsavas is also the person largely responsible for the commercialization of indie rock during the 2000s, almost single-handedly catapulting bands like Death Cab for Cutie into mainstream success. She even has a hand in distribution, as the indie-friendly Twilight soundtracks that she developed were released on her record label, Chop Shop. 

New Moon soundtrack (Chop Shop/Atlantic, 2009); image courtesy of openbooksociety.com

Thus, she’s been a figure I’ve followed obsessively during this decade, sometimes causing me to sniff that I’d never sell independent music out like she has and other times provoking me to growl “bitch took my job,” depending on my cash flow at the time. Either way, I’m fascinated by her and think we should think about her work more closely. 

It seems I’m not alone in thinking Ms. Patsavas is interesting. In a previous post on designer Anna Sui and her Gossip Girl-inspired collection for Target, reader Alaina made an astute comment about the shared importance of music and fashion on the show. To her, if anyone on the trendsetting teen soap has the cultural clout akin to, say, Sex and the City costume designer Pat Field, it isn’t designer Eric Daman but music supervisor Patsavas.

Now, I don’t want to put words in her mouth so hopefully she’ll feel compelled to elaborate her point further. But I interpretted her comment to mean that Patsavas’s work on Schwartz’s television shows, which all feature characters who are tremendously literate in popular and independent music, creates a sense of authenticity both for the show and for the characters whose lives are changed and identities formed by the right song from Spoon, Sonic Youth, LCD Soundsystem, Death Cab for Cutie, Air, Daft Punk, or any other cool-kid music act. In fact, Seth Cohen and Dan and Jenny Humphrey might not even exist without her, as they certainly wouldn’t know what band names to drop. Thus, Patsavas creates a brand awareness akin to the sort of work Field did through Carrie Bradshaw in making Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, and Christian Louboutin such household names.

"Sarah, I own you like Alex Patsavas owns the Humphreys!", Pat Field with Sarah Jessica Parker; image courtesy of observer.com

For me, though, perhaps her most fascinating work is on Mad Men, which is often period-appropriate but sometimes dabbles with pointed anachronism, thus potentially opening up inquiry about the show’s relationship to historical authenticity. The most jarring (and discussed) musical moment so far has been season two’s “Maidenform,” which opens to Betty Draper, Joan Holloway, and Peggy Olsen getting dressed to the galloping strains of The Decemberists’s “The Infanta,” a track off Picaresque that was released in 2005 and not 1962. I’m assuming she’s responsible for selecting the show’s theme as well, though imagine score composer David Carbonara or creator/show runner/auteurist Matthew Weiner could be responsible. Regardless, this is easily the show’s most heard but least commented upon bit of anachronism. 

As I mentioned in my comment to Gary Edgerton’s essay for In Media Res about the show’s opening credits, the theme song is not the work of Bernard Herrmann or a Carbonara approximation. It’s an instrumental version of a song called “A Beautiful Mine.” The people responsible for it are an instrumental hip hop artist named RDJ2, a rapper from Freestyle Fellowship named Aceyalone, and a period-appropriate violinist named Enoch Light, whose “Autumn Leaves” provides the basis for the tune. The song originally appeared on Acey’s Magnificent City.

Pointedly, his vocals are absent from the show’s theme. I suppose a black man’s rap might be too anachronistic for some. But I also think there’s something unsettling about such an argument. It may either provide a comment on the deliberate absence of people of color in a show set in pre-integration America or validate many of the show’s detractors who cry “racism!” I think it does both.

Thus, song selection matters. But of course, so do song selectors.

Kitchen Sink Still Life (351/365 12-17-2009)

Originally uploaded by CarusoPhoto

I was playing around with some camera effects apps for my iPhone, and made this photo. I really liked the way it turned out, so here it is.

SPOON
Written In Reverse

Those Indie darlings, Spoon, are sitting on what is prolly gonna be one of the hottest releases of next year and even though Transference isn’t due out until January 19th (Why blow off Christmas sales…tax implications?!!) the first single, ‘Written In Reverse’, is already burning up the College Radio charts. It’s been almost two years since Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and the Head Spoon, Britt Daniel, calls ‘Transference’ an uglier record….I assume he’s referring to the fact that the new record is loaded up with more spontaneous and raw tunes that started out as throwaways or demos, but there’s no denying the much rougher edge and bluesy feel on ‘Written In Reverse’ is a departure from anything heard on Spoon’s recent albums. Check out more Spoon at Spoon The Band

Don’t worry, I have not forgotten about my top 100 of the decade list even though it has been more than a week since I updated it. Today we continue our look back at the greatest albums of the past ten years. In case you missed them, you can read the other entries below:
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100

60. Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans (2004)
Undoubtedly the most spiritual of the young singer-songwriter’s album catalog, Seven Swans is bursting with life, despite being one of Stevens’ sparser efforts. Most of the songs from this release consist of Stevens’ earnest, wavering voice and his trusty banjo, without much of the orchestration and electronic sounds of his other works. Stevens openly displays faith as a motivator behind his music career on songs like “Abraham” and “The Transfiguration,” and it works far better than any CCM artist.

59. Beck – The Information (2006)
From the opening line, “One, two, you know what to do,” to the last, Beck weaves together an altogether fun album reminiscent of his work in the 90’s. The danceable rhythms, stoned-sounding vocals, and the occasional Spanish phrase thrown in for good measure are vintage Beck and that’s a great thing. I’ve been a big fan for going on 15 years and his fun sense of creativity hardly ever disappoints. Check out songs like “Elevator Music” and “Cellphone’s Dead” to get a good taste of his mid-2000’s greatness.

58. Spoon – Gimme Fiction (2005)
Speaking of danceable tunes, Spoon has put out a ton of them in this decade and every collection has proved to be excellent. This was the first album of theirs that I bought and it quickly turned me into a fan. This is the way good pop music is supposed to sound. Listen to “I Turn My Camera On,” and “The Delicate Place,” and I promise that you’ll agree.

57. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular (2008)
This breakthrough album took the country by storm in 2008 and with good reason. “Time to Pretend,” with its resonating tale of youthful hopes and dreams being dashed to pieces against the disappointments of life, is one of the best songs of the decade. These relative newcomers have a great future ahead of them and I look forward to hearing their future releases. In addition to aforementioned tune, be sure to check out “Weekend Wars,” and “Electric Feel.”

56. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2006)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s debut album broke new ground soon after it was released by becoming one of the first word-of-mouth hits of the internet era. Though it had little radio support in the beginning, positive attention from music blogs soon pushed the band out of the shadows and into the spotlight, cementing their place in the 2000’s indie rock canon. Among the best songs that you should hear from this release are “The Skin of my Yellow Country Teeth,” and “Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away.”

55. The Gaslight Anthem – That ’59 Sound (2008)
In case you ever wondered what would happen if a young Bruce Springsteen had fronted the Clash, here is your answer. The Gaslight Anthem blaze through songs that seem like snapshots of real life in small town America with a punk rock ferocity. Like the aforementioned Springsteen, they name-drop characters (like Mary, unsurprisingly) all around, lending an air of realism to each of these slices of Americana. Check out the songs “That ’59 Sound” and “Great Expectations.”

54. The Jayhawks – Rainy Day Music (2003)
The Jayhawks were among folk rock’s elite few when this excellent album, thus far their final one, dropped in 2003. With harmonies that echo The Byrds and a plethora jangling melodies, this release is there to make one smile, even when the subject matter wouldn’t normally lend itself to that kind of reaction. Among my favorite tunes on the album are “Stumbling Through the Dark,” and “All the Right Reasons,” but the entire thing is great.

53. The Killers – Hot Fuss (2004)
This debut album from The Killers, with its retro-1980’s sound reminiscent of bands like Duran Duran, was a huge hit in the mid-2000’s and with good reason. It’s catchy and fun dance rock that sticks in your head for days after you hear it. Listen to “Somebody Told Me” and “Mr. Brightside,” and then see if you can get them out of your mind.

52. Band of Horses – Cease to Begin (2007)
At times their sound echoes contemporaries My Morning Jacket and classic rocker Neil Young, but this album really set BoH as their own band and as a force with which to be reckoned. Their reverb drenched vocals and decidedly Southern sound need to be heard. Check out songs like “Is There a Ghost” and “Detlef Schrempf for a nice primer on the band and then pick up the whole album.

51. Kings of Leon – Only By Night (2008)
These sons of a traveling Pentecostal preacher slowly built up their status in the U.S. over the decade before breaking through in 2008 with this magnum opus, turning them from bluesy, southern rock purveyors to arena rock headliners. Though not my favorite of their works, the huge sound of Only By Night is made for the big stage. Listen to “Crawl,” “Sex on Fire,” and “Use Somebody.”

To be continued…

As we get into the slow time of year for new records, it gets harder to do a show of all new music. Last night will probably be the last show for a few weeks that doesn’t feel aged…at least relative to what I try to put together. Last night was great though, definitely a good feel to the show. I felt completely on with my mic breaks and the music I was playing. There were also a few callers and requests (that I couldn’t honor).

I’m always conflicted about playing reissues on the show. It’s not technically new music, but it is kind of a new release in a way. When it’s a band that I really like or that was really important to the music scene, I tend to side with playing it. So being able to throw some Sunny Day Real Estate on was nice…even though the reissue came out about three months ago, it just finally made it into rotation at the station. That’s old for The Playlist, but I couldn’t resist playing something from it.

The new Spoon single is great! I’m seriously looking forward to the new album next year. For a while before Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, it felt like they had dropped off, but that album brought them back in a big way for me. It was one of my top albums of 2007 so I’m interested to see what they do now.

Next week will by my Top 10 of 2009 countdown show. I’ve got my list all decided and ready to go. I just need to pick out the songs that I want to play from each one.

Source: 90.3 The Core

So many year-end and decade-end lists are floating around right now that it’s impossible to keep track.

For those not interested in keeping track, there is Metacritic and its Best Music of the Decade.

The Los Angeles Times blog Pop & Hiss provides additional insight about the Metacritic rankings, which (for the record) list their Top 10 artists of the decade (in order) thusly: Spoon, Sigur Rós, Super Furry Animals, Sleater-Kinney, White Stripes, Animal Collective, Drive-By Truckers, Lightning Bolt, Iron & Wine, and The Hold Steady.

If this looks like your kind of list, then be sure to check out more of the decade’s best music as compiled by Metacritic.  There are a good number of interesting Metascores to choose from, including top albums and – quite interestingly - artists with consistently downward-trending scores throughout the decade.

Metacritic Features Editor Jason Dietz acknowledges in the accompanying story that only “a tiny fraction” of all album releases actually wind up in their database, but the rationale for the decade-end rankings is justifiable – at least, based upon the standards by which Metacritic conducts its business.

Of course, positive reviews are not the sole reason to seek out new music, but hey, you’ve gotta start somewhere when sorting through the music of the decade.  Perhaps that artist you overlooked the first time around really does deserve your attention.

Better late than never.

As the decade winds down, everyone is making lists. Gift wish lists, itemized resolutions, and best-of’s. Now that I am finished with school for the semester/year/decade/lifetime, I am throwing my hat into the listing ring with a broad and ambiguous category: the top 20 most prolific musical artists of the past decade. The impact of each of these artists varies from mere proliferation (they were simply everywhere) to stylistic innovation.  It is highly objective.

If you take issue with the list or think there is an egregious omission, let me know, but above all keep in mind – I was only 15 when the decade started so I was probably distracted by video games and hot jams that played at school dances at some point.

Honorable Mentions: Norah Jones, The Strokes, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Timbaland

20. Danger Mouse (Gorillaz, Gnarls Barkley)

Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse (in back) as Gnarls Barkley

Bootlegs may seem gimmicky, but when Danger Mouse dropped The Grey Album – a mashup of acapellas from Jay-Z’s The Black Album over the music of The Beatles’ White Album – it grabbed a lot of immediate attention (Entertainment Weekly’s Album of the Year in 2004).  Danger Mouse may have started as something of a pop culture novelty, but he soon blossomed into a true force in the music industry, collaborating on two of the most innovative pop albums of the decade and producing critically-acclaimed albums in hip-hop (for Gorillaz & MC DOOM), R&B (Gnarls Barkley), and adult contemporary (Beck).

He also penned one of the catchiest songs of the decade in Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” – is there anybody that didn’t have that song on repeat for weeks?  And if his musical production wasn’t enough, Danger Mouse captured serious prolificness by dressing in different costumes for live performances.  Gimmicky maybe, but this guy is no gimmick.  And stay tuned – announced is a 2010 album collaboration with The Shins frontman James Mercer.

19 (tie). Belle and Sebastian and The Shins

Ever wonder who is to blame for all those cutesy lo-fi ballads that peppered every indie movie of the decade to the point of over-saturation?  Well, chances are, either Belle and Sebastian or The Shins.  Their inclusion in some of the most iconic music movies of the decade (High Fidelity, Garden State, Juno) cement both groups in any review of the music of the decade.

For Portland-based The Shins, short jangly pop hooks over cutesy whistles and organic percussion launched the group to indie fame after Zach Braff couldn’t include just one track on the Garden State soundtrack.  However, the band flexed its musical muscle over the decade, which saw them evolve from simple vocal harmonizations to complex pop songs and bubbling epics like “Sleeping Lessons” from 2007’s Wincing the Night Away.  The band has evolved over time, and its success has allowed other wannabe indie bands to follow suit.

The musical reach of Belle and Sebastian far-surpassed their record sales, and though their name recognition may not be high in the American pop scene, so many new artists claim these Scots as an influence and so many directors seek rights to their music for soundtracks that their prolific nature is undeniable.

18. The Killers

After the release of debut album Hot Fuss in 2004, one might have expected that this band would end up near the top of a decade retrospective list.  Demonstrating appeal to fans of alternative (Somebody Told Me), post-punk new wave (Mr. Brightside), and R&B-infused pop (All These Things That I’ve Done), this Vegas band seemed poised to transform the American music scene.  Then they released the underwhelming 2006 follow-up album, Sam’s Town, which had its moments but failed to live up to expectations.  Sadly, this was the peak.  2008’s Day & Age is a disaster of a record, and the recent single “Human” is just confusing – “Are we human? Or are we dancer?”  Really?  Ugh.  In a surprisingly scathing (and prescient) review of Hot Fuss, Pitchfork said of The Killers in 2004:

The Killers are just the latest band to be born too quick inside the popular music vacuum, where expectations for broad accessibility kill dudes’ potential for deeper creativity quite fabulously dead.

Yeah, I guess they were right.

As someone who has seen them live twice (good the first time, awful the second), it’s frustrating that the thing I ended up liking most about this band is the origin of the name (note the kick drum).

17. Karin Dreijer Andersson (The Knife, Fever Ray, Röyksopp)

Karin Dreijer Andersson in Fever Ray garb.

It’s sometimes difficult to distinguish Karin Dreijer Andersson from her brother and The Knife co-member Olaf Dreijer.  Though they’ve only officially worked together as The Knife, the same elements of frosty production are notably evident in Karin’s solo work as Fever Ray, and when they make a rare public appearance they’re usually wearing masks.  There is a lot of mystique surrounding The Knife – cultivated in part by their refusal to accept a Swedish Grammis award for Best Pop Group in 2003, opting instead to send a duo of gorilla suits to protest male dominance in the music industry.  So for the purpose of this list, I’m treating them as one artist.

After a lackluster first album, the Dreijer siblings were catapulted to fame in large part due to a 2003 Jose Gonzalez cover of “Heartbeats“, the lead single off 2004’s second album, Deep Cuts.   However, the duo built on the increasing critical attention and released a tour de force of an album in 2006’s Silent Shout.  From the first pulse of the title track, Silent Shout reverberated like an announcement that the Dreijer’s had seriously stepped up their game.  And the accolades poured in – 6 nominations (and 6 wins) at the Swedish Grammis followed soon by being #2 album of 2006 by Resident Advisor (an electronic music online mag) and #1 by Pitchfork (an indie music online mag).  With the rise of electropop baselines in contemporary hip-hop, it’s perhaps a testament to their abstraction that no would-be MC has taken the reins of the behemoth bassline in “We Share Our Mother’s Health.”

The music of The Knife is both frigid and haunting, a product of icy arpeggios and piercing vocals from Dreijer Andersson.  Both are now in high demand, with the Dreijers lending production to the career resurrection of Swedish chanteuse Robyn (a criminally underrated pop artist in her own right) and vocals to multiple tracks over the years from Norwegian electro-pop outfit Röyksopp.  Dreijer Andersson’s self-titled solo album under the name Fever Ray hit stores in January, and is (spoiler alert?) a favorite to land near the top of year-end lists for 2009.   Adding to Dreijer’s prolific contribution to the 00’s is the evocative imagery used in videos and marketing that fit the mystery and mood of the music to a chilling T.

16. Interpol

I was initially drawn to Interpol’s 2002 debut – Turn on the Bright Lights – after hearing a number of favorable comparisons to Joy Division.  Having listened to both bands obsessively at times, I do have to say that Interpol is a lot more than a carbon copy of their earlier influence.  Though Paul Banks sings in a low register much like Ian Curtis did, there is a lot of acoustic depth to Interpol’s instrumentation.  Songs like “Leif Erikson” are so rich in layering and atmosphere that they continue to reward repeated listens.

That said, subsequent albums did not rival the brilliance of Bright Lights.  Antics was solid, but Our Love To Admire felt hollow and incomplete, like the product of a band trying to break free of a comfortable mold and reach a wider audience but alienating themselves in the process.  To that extent, Interpol suffers from the same failure to live up to expectations as The Killers – however, their flawless debut and its impact on the alternative scene alone are enough to earn Interpol a higher spot on this list.  And then there’s the news that their forthcoming 2010 release will be a return to form – that’s definitely reassuring.

15. Wilco

In 2002, Jeff Tweedy and Wilco submitted their fourth recorded album to Reprise Records and were summarily dismissed.  Dropped by their label, Wilco was soon picked up by a new executive and the record was released in full.  That record is a seminal landmark of the 00’s that has received nearly universal acclaim.  Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was my introduction to Wilco.  Over the past eight years, it is probably the album I have played the most frequently.  And to be honest, it still sounds far fresher than anything released in the past year.  It’s that good.

But what’s really amazing about Wilco is that the glitchy folk stylings of YHF don’t encapsulate the band – there are also the freeform quirky jams of A Ghost is Born and the more traditional singer-songwriter fare of Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (The Album).  That versatility transcends genre – though labeled alt-country, Tweedy’s records range from experimental to textbook, giving each album both challenging and comforting elements.  Above all, Wilco made country folk music cool.  Which, in my mind at least, is quite a feat.

14. Spoon

One gets the sense that this band works very hard and has a lot of fun doing it.  Spoon has released four albums in the 00’s, and each of them has been better than the last – a pretty amazing feat given how high the bar was set by 2001’s Girls Can Tell.  Their sound has become more refined and the song-writing is a lot tighter on newer albums, but none of the playful fun has been lost.  That’s the real appeal of Spoon – they’re a band of solid musicians with an obvious love of old school rock grooves with a hint of funk, but with a humorous and aloof lyricism that on its own would seem unserious if not for the fine rhythmic instrumentation.

In addition to four studio albums, Spoon also produced much of the soundtrack for the Marc Forster film Stranger Than Fiction, one of the most appropriate pairings of musical act and film narrative of the decade.

It’s actually somewhat criminal that this band isn’t higher on the mainstream radar.  But you know whose radar they are on?  Robots.  Did I mention that this band is a lot of fun?  With their next album due in January of 2010, let’s hope Spoon is as prolific in the 10’s as they were in the 00’s.

13. Pharrell (The Neptunes, N.E.R.D.)

Here’s a list of a few early songs that Pharrell produced:

1. Justin Timberlake – Like I Love You
2. Britney Spears – I’m A Slave 4 You
3. Clipse – Grindin’
4. Kelis – Milkshake
5. Nelly – Hot in Herre

Here are a few songs that Pharrell has appeared on:

1. Snoop Dogg – Drop It Like It’s Hot
2. N.E.R.D. – She Wants to Move
3. Pharrell – Frontin’
4. Gwen Stefani – Can I Have It Like That?
5. Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, and Pharrell ft. Thom Yorke (Child Rebel Soldiers) – US Placers

Here are a few artists Pharrell has collaborated with or produced for (beyond the above):

1. Madonna
2. The Hives
3. The Strokes
4. Jennifer Lopez
5. The Roots
6. Maroon 5
7. Shakira

Ok, I’ll stop.  The man was everywhere.

12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Lollapalooza

Oh, Karen O.  I’m on record already calling her amazing.  She gives Iggy Pop and Jim Morrison a run for their money in terms of charisma, but she manages to do it in such a wholesome and nerdy way.  Known as much for her iconic image as her primal scream, she’s taken this New York band from the bar to Radio City.  Literally.  This is a band that worked its way up – cutting rough demos of 2 minute stormers just six years ago, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs now have three albums to their name – each with a distinctly unique style.

2003’s Fever to Tell was a rough post punk tour de force – Karen O howled and screamed and hurtled through a torrid set of pure rock before capping it all off with perhaps the most defining ballad of the decade.  2006’s Show Your Bones was a more refined offering, losing some of the raw edge and adding a healthy dose of melody.  Singles “Cheated Hearts“, “Gold Lion“, and “Phenomena” were all tightly-crafted radio-ready cuts that gained critical as well as commercial acclaim.  And 2009’s It’s Blitz! incorporates synthesizers and a dance groove, offering a steady balance between the usual high energy Yeah Yeah Yeahs pace and more reserved offerings that show off Karen O’s softer side.  And along the way they’ve managed to release a few quality EPs, a brilliant acoustic set, a raucous live DVD, and a wonderful soundtrack collaboration between Karen O and guitarist Nick Zinner for Spike Jonze’s Where The Wild Things Are.  And the best music video of 2009.

The accolades have matched the effort.  NME named Fever to Tell the fifth best album of the decade.  They’d previously named Show Your Bones the second best of 2006 and It’s Blitz! the third best of 2009.

Has any other band evolved this much over the past decade and maintained such quality?

11. Kylie Minogue

So this may be a controversial choice.  Kylie hasn’t exactly been a regular on the radio in the United States, although I would argue that this is more a critical fault of American pop music than anything Ms. Minogue has done wrong.  In fact, Kylie has consistently offered pop music that stays one step ahead of her pop princess proteges (Britney, I’m looking at you).  And she managed to do it while battling breast cancer.

Kylie released four full albums in the 00’s, and though she isn’t often placed in the same category as starlets like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, or Jessica Simpson, she was nearly as prolific on the pop charts – particularly abroad, where she dwarfed her peers’ record sales in Australia and the UK.  2000’s “Spinning Around” rejuvenated her career, but it was 2001’s “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” that catapulted Kylie into the American spotlight.  All of Fever is incredible pop music – as rare as it is to find a pop album enjoyable to listen all the way through, Fever is the creme de la creme.  Not since Ace of Base (yes, I just wrote that) had a pop album been so solid.

Well, until the release of Body Language in 2004.  Though short on radio-ready singles, Body Language is a deeper album that sees Minogue branch out into more vocal range and stylistic variation.  There’s more consistency and sophistication here, out-pacing the blunt club anthems and formulaic call and response style in vogue on the radio during this period.

And I’ll go further than that.  Kylie has been influential on the music scene by being at the forefront of the reintroduction of disco into the mainstream.  This is still emerging – but at 41, I think Kylie Minogue will become a more and more frequently cited influence for the next generation of pop stars.

Stay tuned for 10-1 within the next week.

Some may notice this post is a little belated…let’s just say any week your band gets to open for KISS is automatically the most hectic week you’ve ever had in your life, times a million.

No matter–it will take some picking up of the general pace, but all the reviews WILL be written by Dec 30th, and the FINAL LIST will be posted on the 31st. So, let’s get back to it, shall we?

Spoon—Kill the Moonlight
Merge, 2002

Remember how many memorable riffs Led Zeppelin II had? “Whole Lotta Love”, “The Lemon Song”, “Thank You”, “Heartbreaker”, “Ramble On”… It’s not even their best album, yet it contains a ton of the more iconic tunes of the 1970’s. Kill the Moonlight is that album for the 2000’s, and the best album so far from Spoon. Count the ways: “Small Stakes”, “The Way We Get By”, “Jonathon Fisk”, “Paper Tiger”, “Don’t Let It Get You Down”, and “Vittorio E” are all songs that have become iconic already, in the same decade they were released. The opening keyboard riff of “Small Stakes” alone would be enough to solidify a spot for Kill the Moonlight on this list, and with a song like “The Way We Get By” placed right after it, it’s already bound for top 50 glory. Tons of publications have mentioned this album in decade lists already and it may seem kind of cliché, but it really is Spoon’s most consistent album. Plus, a lot of folks don’t talk about “Vittorio E”, the moving closing track that represents a more atmospheric and psychedelic side of Spoon they have yet to fully explore, and the numbers of ways this band can grow in the future.

Band of Horses—Cease to Begin
Sub Pop, 2007

Creating something simple and beautiful is underrated anymore, and hopefully Band of Horses will get what they deserve for doing it so well. In this decade, they have made two glorious, 10-song gems of records that somehow sound completely original and realized without being over-produced or overwrought. Both albums sound like effortless breaths of fresh air in a world that has forgotten that possibilities still exist for rock music; Cease to Begin is simply the better one of these. “Is There A Ghost?” is the song that got them noticed, but aside from the minute-long filler of “Lamb on the Lam”, there is not a bad song on this album. The oddly titled “Detlef Schrempf” is one of the brightest moments—it boasts an incredible wordless hook fit for filled arenas everywhere, but is way too subdued to be considered a power ballad. Lead singer/songwriter Ben Bridwell has a great voice that just kind of inspires a passionate sing-along, and his songwriting goes hand in hand with this. It’s a winning formula that works just as well on slower songs like “Schrempf” and the incredible “Window Blues” as it does on rock tunes like “Islands on the Coast” and “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands”.

Caribou—Andorra
Merge, 2007

Caribou may have had its beginnings as an electronic project with sole member Daniel Snaith, but it quickly became something much more—darkly sunny sample-pop that simultaneously embraces the joyful and the discomforting. “Melody Day”, Andorra’s opening track, sets this tone perfectly. The beautiful, minor-key verse washes into a chorus of barely controlled disarray, only to stumble back together again in the first of a number of challenging moments on this record. The best song may be “After Hours”, if only because it works on so many levels—it’s a dance tune, it’s a psychedelic sound collage, it’s a pop song, it’s a love song, and it’s innovative as hell. It’s also one of the best examples of Snaith’s compelling drumming, which has enough personality to propel every song in different directions. Andorra’s production is light and airy, and sometimes feels a bit lacking in the low-end department. But this feel helps to make the album seem odd yet timeless, like something no one has ever heard before or will ever hear again.

See how the spoon holds in its heart the full moon of an incandescent bulb.

Afternoon, children!  Glad to be back with you on this beautiful Wednesday afternoon.  I’ve been chillin’ here at Casa de Brown Tweed-o, awestruck at the abilities of my best friend Internet.  I never knew it before, but he can read my mind.  Apparently, internet was hiding this ability from me so as to not make me self-concious, but it’s hard to hide a true superpower.  Case in point:  just a couple of days ago, I held a basketball tournament in my head to determineover the best concert movie ever.  With a last second shot in overtime, the Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense beat out Springsteen’s 1975 concert from the Royal Albert Odeon.   I secretly planned on writing a post on the subject to open it up for debate amongst our readership and promptly forgot upon learning that my aspirations of dating Jessica Simpson had once again been dashed, this time by a zombie.  Anyway, I had a few free minutes and was catching up on the goings on over at the A.V. Club, where I learned that the fellers over there caught my brainwaves, came to the same conclusion, and wrote my post for me.  Thank you, Internet telepathy!

In further anthropomorphication of inanimate things, I think my Ipod must be clairvoyant.  While I was working on the previous paragraph, shuffle played me two Kings of Leon songs with the Twilight Singers in between.  Then, as the last note of “Sex On Fire” played, I checked out Spin.com only to see that the KOL is their Band of the Year for 2009.  I’m not the world’s biggest KOL fan, but I do appreciate where the boys came from and am glad to see thier hard work paying off.  I have to admit, I like these guys better than  Green Day.

Since I seem to be surrounded by mad psychic energy, I’m going to try my hand at precognition.  I’m going to use the magic 8-ball that is my mind to predict some of the hot albums of 2010.  Keep in mind, I have no idea what albums are going to be released next year and really haven’t had time to do any research into the issue.  My first prediction is that Yeasayer will come out of ther self-imposed media exile and release an album in early February.  These guys have a lot of left-over buzz from their 2007 debut and from tearing up Bonnarroo last summer.  Here’s hoping they’ll deliver just as solidly on their sophomore release.

I’m not sure what it is, but something tells me that Vampire Weekend will release something next year.  Those guys haven’t really gotten much press at all, so let’s hope they break out in 2010.  Another band that I predict will release an album, oh say around January 19, is Spoon.  Britt Daniel and Co. were the Kings of Leon of 2007 and if their 2009 EP Got Nuffin’ is any indication, the album will be filled with phonetic song titles.  For my final prediction, I’ll go with Great Britain’s own Lightspeed Champion.  It’s been a bit since Dev Hynes released his debut Falling Off the Lavender Bridge, which contained my favorite song of 2007 “Everyone I Know Is Listening to Crunk.”  A little birdie is telling me that Lightspeed will return with new material in February, and the same birdie is telling me about a FREE album of bootlegs that Lightspeed is providing to the world right now.  Head on over to hear the guy who used to be in a band called “Test Icicles”.  Seriously.  Later!

Creative + innovative = awesomeness

bookshelf chair

It could store 200 to 300 books.

Tree bookshelf

Multifunction.

floating spoon for cooking

Brilliant.

I’m sure i’ll be a product designer

Wish me luck guys.

As 2009 comes to an end, I’ve decided (like countless others) to commemorate the event by proclaiming my favorites in music, movies and TV.  First up, is music.  Before I start the list, I’d like a chance to defend my choices.  First, I really don’t listen to much “new music” or better stated, “modern music”.  I rarely listen to the radio, and if I do, it’s an oldies station.  When I accidentally hear what’s considered popular today (music in a store or what they use in TV shows), I kind of cringe.  Some examples include Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face”, Britney Spear’s “Womanizer”, Pink’s “I’m Gonna Start a Fight”, or anything by Coldplay, or any emo act.  In this blogger’s opinion, it’s rubbish.  Factory-made music for the eager consumer.  But, that’s just what it sounds like to me.  A million fans can’t be wrong, can they?

Secondly, the small amount of “modern music” I do listen to is really only taken up by a small percentage of bands.  I decided when starting the list that I wouldn’t have any repeat offenders, so I found myself scouring my music collection (both CD and mp3) to find my favorite albums made after 1999.  At some points, I felt as if I were reaching, but then I’d discover another album long forgotten and it would take the spot.

Thirdly, this is a list of my “favorites”.  WordPress was free, and I’m allowed to write whatever the hell I want (not like anyone’s paying me what to say), so this is my list.  It’s not a Best Of, or Greatest, it’s Favorite. But, when thinking about it, my favorite translates to what I think were the greatest or best albums of the aughts.  It’s not going to look like a mainstream critic’s list.  It’s not going to look like a Pitchfork or Rolling Stone or Spin list.  The list isn’t self-conscious.  It doesn’t care what the hipsters or scenesters think.  It doesn’t have a reputation to uphold. It is what it is.  So, if you care in the slightest about this blogger’s opinion (and really, why should you?), then unbuckle that seat belt because you’re in for a dangerous ride free of society’s vindication of what’s considered popular.

20.  Tool – 10,000 Days (2006)

Yes, I’m picking 10,000 Days over Lateralus. It was only fair. Lateralus is an album I really don’t listen to all that much. I can’t even find a reason why other than I listen to Aenima more than any other Tool album, but considering the Tool discography after 1999, I listen to 10,000 Days the most. Its two opening songs (“Vicarious”, “Jambi”) match the two opening songs of Aenima (“Stinkfist”, “Eulogy”) as far as album openings go. While Aenima is far more consistent, 10,000 Days still pulls some punches with “The Pot” and “Roseta Stoned”. 10,000 also has its fair share of weird, tripped-out experimental instrumentals, which on most occasions, I skip. But the best songs are really really good. When I saw Tool live in Cincinnati – 2007, they opened with “Jambi” which definitely brought on a new appreciation for the song, and the album as a whole. While Lateralus maybe the better album (will the music gods call shenanigans on me?), I listen to 10,000 Days more, therefore making it my favorite by Tool in the 2000’s.

Best Songs: “Vicarious”, “Jambi”, “The Pot”

19.  David Gilmour – On an Island (2006)

David Gilmour or Roger Waters?  Why does everything in life have to narrow down to a blank or bank?  Elvis or The Beatles….or better yet, Lennon or McCartney?  Jagger or Richards?  Who’s the better band member?  You can only have one favorite, so choose wisely!  Often is the case with Pink Floyd, a band who suffered a terrible break-up splitting the creative forces, and to some extent, the fans.  Are you in the Gilmour Camp or the Waters Camp?  I ask, instead, who cares?

I like both of the chaps.  They’ve both produced some of the best music this side of the moon…or…uh…this side of the wall!  Who cares if they hate each other?  They’re both brilliant musicians.  And it’s actually quite easy to see that Gilmour is the better guitarist while Waters is the better songwriter.  In my opinion, I mean.

So….to segue into the actual point of this list, David Gilmour’s On an Island is a guitar legend’s guitar album, which showcases all of his craft we’ve already come to love.  Some of the songs sound a little like Pink Floyd, but that’s forgiven.  It’s still quite moody and trippy (well, like Floyd), but it is its own, if not only for the title track, which is haunting and beautiful.  The fact that Crosby and Nash (sans Stills) do the backing vocals only adds to the beauty.  If you haven’t heard this album, hear it!

Best Songs: “On an Island”, “Take a Breath”

18.  Jack Johnson – Brushfire Fairytales (2001)

I’m really not sure whether or not it’s cool to like Jack Johnson.  On one end, he makes some fine, folky pop that’s easy to mellow out to.  On the other, his songs can be heard at your local grocery store (always hear his voice at Kroger’s), sometimes on the radio, and most definitely coming out of the cars of the douche bags you went to high school with.  But this is all okay.  I mean, the man did the soundtrack to the Curious George flick!  Well, I haven’t actually heard any of the songs or seen the film, but it’s Curious George!

There are really only two Jack Johnson albums that I listen to.  Aside from the aforementioned Brushfire Fairytales, On and On is frequently in rotation between me and K., the girlfriend.  But Brushfire Fairytales is the better album because it has the better songs, the better melodies, the better “flow”….Ugh…”flow”?  Well, how about the album flows together more than On and On?  Does that make sense?  Not really.

Brushfire Fairytales is a mellow experience from start to finish, and perfect for cruising on a rainy, summer day.  Apparently, it compliments the beach, but I wouldn’t know.

Best Songs:  “Inaudible Melodies”, “Flake”, “Bubble Toes”

17.  Gomez – How We Operate (2006)

What a great band, what with all the singers and the blues/pop sensibilities.  How We Operate operates on many different levels; a brilliant album that can be both cheery and sad.  Not much else to say about it, other than there’s a banjo.  That will be all.

Best songs:  “How We Operate”, “Cry on Demand”

16.  Nine Inch Nails – Year Zero (2007)

Better than NIN’s previous aught-released With Teeth, the concept album Year Zero served well as a template for Trent Reznor to create spooky beats, industrial riffs, and paranoid lyrics.  Say what you will about NIN, but Trent (because well, NIN is Trent) is a studio wizard, a mastermind, who consistently sharpens his craft with each release (except for With Teeth, which was plain average).  Like The Fragile was to The Downward Spiral (which was bloody brilliant, by the way) in the 90’s, Year Zero is to With Teeth.  In 2008, The Slip came out, which was decent, but nowhere near the excellence which was Year Zero, which supposedly, Trent is in talks with HBO about a possible mini-series based on the album.

Sidenote:  You need to see NIN live!  Now!  Oh, you haven’t?  Well, I think you’re shit out of luck, then….apparrently they recently finished their “Goodbye/Farewell Tour”.

Best Songs:  “The Good Soldier”, “Me, I’m Not”, “The Great Destroyer”

15.  Bauhaus - Go Away White (2008)

From out of nowhere came Bauhaus’s first studio album (and proclaimed last album) since 1983.  A lot had happened between ‘83 and ‘08, like the rise of alternative-geniuses Love and Rockets (basically Bauhaus sans front man Peter Murphy) and Peter Murphy’s semi-successful solo career.  Did people forget about Bauhaus?  Probably…

But there were always the fans, holding out in hopes for a new album, and probably more so, a “reunion tour”.  The 2000’s were full of reunions, from the Pixies to Portishead, so why not Bauhaus?

Go Away White is a solid album…but it doesn’t sound too much like Bauhaus’ early 8o’s records.  That’s obvious, though…it’s not the early 80’s anymore.  All 4 musicians have grown and evolved since the early days, and this album focuses on that shift.  To some, it may seem a tad indulgent (like the studio banter in “Mirror Remains”).  It’s good though!  Peter Murphy is at his most Bowie-esque and the band plays a sound similar to Love and Rockets meets Bauhaus.  Now, the tour never did happen (I think they may have played a handful of shows), but the band left us this album.  Some may want to wipe it out of their memory completely and stick with Burning From the Inside as their last album, but Go Away White seems more like the farewell album.  I think the fans were lucky enough to get it, so I don’t feel the need to complain.  Thanks Bauhaus!

Best Songs:  “Too Much 21st Century”, “Mirror Remains”, “Black Stone Heart”

14.  Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)

Arcade Fire managed to make an album full of depression and despair, but also highly uplifting.  The Canadian mega-band released this, their debut full-length, in 2004 and the rest is history.  Their sophomore effort, almost as good as Funeral, Neon Bible came out in 2007 to mostly positive reviews, and the band has performed with likes of legends such as David Bowie, David Byrne and Bruce Springsteen.  The album was named Funeral after some of the band’s family members passed, and it shows; an album about death, life, and growing up.

Best Songs:  “Neighborhood # 1 (Tunnels)”, “Neighborhood # 3 (Power Out)”, “Rebellion (Lies)”

13.  Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007)

Who is this Spoon band?  They’ve been around since the early 90’s, and up until Ga… had released five studio albums.  I can’t say much for the previous releases because I haven’t heard enough (I have them all on my Ipod, just haven’t really listened much), but the goofily-named Ga is outstanding, a feat of rock and roll with pop sensibilities.  It’s addictive music.  You can’t escape it.  It burrows up inside the deepest regions of your memory and attacks at the most rare moments.  That’s why you need a copy of Ga… in your car, or on your Ipod, because you never know when the Spoon Syndrome will strike!  Now, listening to their previous efforts, they really don’t sound as good as this one.  Maybe this was the album Spoon found their sound, hit their stride, and blew our minds.

Sidenote:  The best song on the album, “Don’t You Evah”, is actually a cover of a song by a band I’ve never heard of.  Sorry for the disrespect, but I don’t want to ruin Spoon’s version.  It’s that good!

Best Songs:  “Don’t Make Me a Target”, “Don’t You Evah”, “Rhthm & Soul”

12. Flight of the Conchords - I Told You I Was Freaky (2009)

The reason I Told You I Was Freaky outranks FOTC’s self-titled debut is because all of the songs on FOTC had been heard previously as live performances…and the live performances were better.  So that made FOTC a bit disappointing.  But not I Told You I Was Freaky.  It was near perfect.  Of course, you’d have to be a fan of the show to truly appreciate it, but that means absolute zilch to me, since I was.  From the opening parody of rap music (“Hurt Feelings”) to the closing chorus of angels doing it (“Angels”), I Told You I Was Freaky is a delightfully fun and hilarious album.

Best Songs:  “Hurt Feelings”, “We’re Both in Love With a Sexy Lady”, “I Told You I Was Freaky”

11. David Byrne – Look Into the Eyeball (2001)

It’s obvious that David Byrne, nor the rest of the Talking Heads, can ever amount to what they achieved in the late 70’s/early 80’s.  Talking Heads were such an amazing and monumental band that pretty much any band can’t come close to matching what they had in the magical days.  David Byrne can try though, right?

Look Into the Eyeball, in my opinion, is Byrne’s best solo effort.  It’s just a collection of great songs, ranging from funky, catchy, poppy and tragic.  Byrne is at his best when he’s trying to get you to dance, rather than think, and this album proves that.  Byrne’s 2008 collaboration with Brian Eno was good – very good, even, but I choose Look Into the Eyeball as Byrne’s aught-darling.

Best Songs:  “U.B. Jesus”, “Like Humans Do”, “The Accident”

10.  Tom Waits – Real Gone (2004)

Tom Waits continue his role as rural champion (as evidenced on Mule Variations), with Real Gone, an album featuring songs that sound like they could be about barnyard murder mysteries, big city dance moves, and anti-war protests.  This is not the Tom Waits of yore; the drunken bozo who stumbled onto a piano.  This is the modern Tom Waits; a family man who lives in Northern California, and also, makes really good music.  Artists evolve all of the time, and since the 80’s, Tom Waits has been doing it regularly.  While this isn’t his greatest accomplishment, it’s a solid effort that reminds us (the fans) that Tom Waits still has it.  Thank God.

Best Songs:  “Hoist That Rag”, “Sins of My Father”, “Don’t Go Into That Barn”

9.  Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig Lazarus Dig!!! (2007)

Dig Lazarus Dig!!! is one of the best from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in years, and towers over their other albums released in the aughts.  Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus was decent, sometimes even great, but some of the songs fell short (mostly on They Lyre… disc).  On Dig Lazarus Dig!!!, Nick Cave and Co. let their colors shine and record a rocking album that seemed to rejuvenate the band’s live show, something I witnessed myself in Chicago in the fall of ‘08.  In other words, they fucking rocked the house.  My girlfriend had the luck to get front row, but a fat fangirl blocked me from moving up, so I had to settle with second row.  Oh well…still an awesome show from a truly awesome and original band, which this album proves.  From the hyper-chant opening of the title track, the psychedelia of “Today’s Lesson” and “Midnight Man”, and the tenderness of the slower songs like “Moonland”, “Hold On To Yourself” and “Jesus of the Moon”, the album just kicks ass.  No other phrase to explain it.

Best Songs:  “Today’s Lesson”, “Hold On To Yourself”, “Midnight Man”

8.  Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf (2002)

This album features Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri, Dave Grohl and Dean Ween!  There are others as well, but I felt the need to list those musicians.  QOTSA is always interesting, mostly due to Josh Homme’s guitar playing and song writing, and on Songs for the Deaf, QOTSA show they’re a true rock band in the age of pop radio.  This album is near perfect and suitable for driving at night.

This was also QOTSA’s most successful album, after scoring a hit with the addictive “No One Knows”.  I also happen to think this is their best album, and they still haven’t topped it.

Best Songs:  “No One Knows”, “A Song for the Dead”, “A Song for the Deaf”

7.  My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges (2008)

Z maybe the better album, but my money goes to Evil Urges, an album that is quite personal to me.  In the summer of ‘08, when the album came out, K. & I took a trip to Gatlinburg and this was our soundtrack.  Then, we had the priviledge of seeing MMJ live in their hometown of Louisville, which was an amazing experience.  So, this album captures a wonderful time in my life, and I relive it each time while listening.

To me, this album is perfect, from the opening title track to the epic closer, “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2″.  Jim James and Co. just let loose, ranging from indie-rock, funky psychedelia and country-tinged alternative.  What a joy to listen to!  And the experiences I’ve had with it make it that much better.

Best Songs:  “Evil Urges”, “Sec Walkin”, “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Prt. 2″

6.  Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica (2000)

“Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” alone makes this album one of the best of the aughts.  There’s more though, as Modest Mouse paint their sonic landscape around desolation, loneliness and people.  The arrangements, at times psychedelic, mixed with Isaac Brock’s unique vocals and lyrics all paint the grand picture.  There’s a theme here and it’s cold.  And we meet asshole bosses, zombie consumers, TV junkies, emotional voyeurs and a pack of wild dogs along dead cities and star-lit nights.

This album came out before Modest Mouse would find their slice of mainstream success with the hit single “Float On”, and it kind of represents the end of an era for the band.  After The Moon…, Good News For People Who Love Bad News would come out, and with it, a shift in their sound.  They still remain an excellent band, and one of the better out there today, but their early material was an example of music as poetry; cold and distant, but also beautiful and personal.

Best Songs:  “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes”, “Paper Thin Walls”, “I Came as Rat”

5.  Brian Wilson – Smile (2004)

So, Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys recorded most of this album in the 1960’s, but it was ultimately scrapped and left only to be heard by hardcore fans with bootleg access.  The aughts changed this, as Wilson re-recorded and finally released his masterpiece, Smile.  There’s much to hype up about this album, from the arrangements to the harmonies to the subject matter and to the psychedelic thread keeping it all together.  Brian Wilson may have been a crazy person (literally), but he was also a musical genius, and the Beach Boys without him have suffered miserably.  That’s okay, because this sounds kind of like a Beach Boys album (well, technically…) with Wilson in charge.

Best Songs:  ”Heroes and Villains”, “Surf’s Up”, “Good Vibrations”

4.  Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001/2002)

The drama surrounding the making of this album was enough to warrant a compelling documentary (I Am Trying to Break Your Heart), and that’s the reason the years above are years.  The album was completed and ready for a 2001 release but the label refused to release the damn thing!  Wilco ended up streaming the entire album for free online, and the album would find a new home and release date in 2002.

Enough about the background information;  let’s dive into the music, shall we?  It’s weird, experimental, arty, with a dash of pretension, but also catchy, poppy and extremely infectious.  There’s earth-shattering truth on this album.  There’s pain and pleasure and despair and happiness all rolled into a compact sushi sizable for your stereo.

Sky Blue Sky, Wilco’s 2007 release, also has a personal place in my memories, when I bought it on vacation in the Gulf Shores that same year.  But Yankee Hotel Foxtrot reminds me of all recent and past summers, and of driving around in the sun, listening to “Heavy Metal Drummer”, or even winters, driving around in the snow, listening to “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”.  Whatever the season, Wilco is there for you…

Best Songs:  ”Jesus, Etc.”, “Heavy Metal Drummer”, “Pot Kettle Black”

3.  Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Once More, With Feeling Soundtrack (2002)

Well, if you’ve seen Buffy’s Season 6 musical episode, Once More, With Feeling, then you know why this soundtrack belongs on the list.  Listening to the album is as much fun as watching it, and sidebar:  seeing it performed by actors (unfortunately not the Whedon originals) is super-fun as well.

There’s even some bonus content here, such as Christophe Beck’s scores for Hush and Restless.  I really wish they would have included Giles’ “Exposition Song” from Restless, but oh well…We also get to hear Whedon and wife’s demo version of “Something to Sing About”.

Not much more to say about OMWF, other than if you’re a fan of Buffy and you don’t have this, what the hell is wrong with you?  From the opening anti-Disney number, “Going Through the Motions”,the Scooby’s group song, “I’ve Got a Theory”, Tara’s love ballad, Spike’s love-rock lament, “Rest in Peace”,  through the Giles/Tara ballad, the demon’s jazzy send-up, and the epic “Walk Through the Fire”, this album/episode is pure gold.  Someone give Mr. Whedon an actual Emmy.  Or a Grammy!  Shit…

Best Songs:  ”Rest in Peace”, “Standing”, “Walk Through the Fire”

2.  Ween – Quebec (2003)

Quebec finds Ween at a more depressing state in their lives, and as they push the boundaries of their previous studio efforts, they also dig deep down in a dark side…a dark brown side.  It’s not all fun and games, though.  Okay, yeah it is.

This is Ween’s darkest hour, but it also has its sunny side, too.  Just look at “Hey There Fancypants” and the album opener “It’s Gonna be a Long Night”.  But between and after these tracks, the songs tell a sad story that really isn’t a story at all.  What’s it all about?  Drug addiction?  Gambling?  Adulthood?  Sexuality?  Failure?  Maybe all…

Quebec ranks so high on my list, first and foremost, because Ween is probably my favorite band.  If this was Best Albums of the 90’s list, I may have picked The Mollusk as Number 1.  And I truly believe Ween is still one of the most interesting bands out there, and Quebec really shows that.

Best Songs:  ”Zoloft”, “Chocolate Town”, “If You Could Save Yourself (You’d Save Us All)”

1.  Tenacious D – Tenacious D (2001)

Tenacious D is the greatest band in the world, right?  Well, then their album would have to be the Greatest Album in the World, right?

Whether or not the above question is true, the D’s self-titled debut is my favorite album from the aughts, and it’s a satirical exercise in rock and roll music.  And the studio band helps at some points, helping “Wonder Boy” find an identity, “The Road” to sound like arena rock, and Sabbath-like riffing finding a suitable home on “Dio”.

Basically, what it comes down to, is that it’s a fun album, from start to finish.  It brings joy when listened to.  When an album can do that, it’s special, whether or not the word “fuck” is used more than 250 times.  Some people find comfort in rap music.  I’ll stick with The D.

Best Songs:  ”Tribute”, “Explosivo”, “Karate”

Honorable Mentions:  Fantomas – Director’s Cut, MF Doom AKA Viktor Vaughn – Vaudeville Villain, Rob Zombie – The Sinister Urge, Mindless Self Indulgence – You’ll Rebel to Anything, Tech N9ne – Anghellic