I spent so much time putting together that decade list I neglected to tell you that 2009 was a great year for music. Here's a rundown of my top 10 albums of the year:
10. St. Vincent - Actor: A brief yet diverse showing from an emerging talent. Her performance of "Marrow" on David Letterman's show might be the weirdest thing I've ever seen on prime time television.
9. U2 - No Line On The Horizon: Despite the poor first single, this is the most complete and rewarding record they've done in a decade, and "Breathe" is as inspiring as their best 80's anthems.
8. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt. 2: Countless contributors and producers come together to make an amazingly tight thematic record. Dark, catchy, and dramatic - this is how we remember the Wu-Tang Clan's best work.
7. Dirty Projectors - Bitta Ocra: These Brooklyn art-noise artists finally toned down the weirdness enough to make something memorable. "No Intentions" and "Stillness Is A Move" would be hit pop singles in a perfect world.
6. Q-Tip - Kamaal The Abstract: It finally got released and it was worth the 7-year wait. Deep grooves and brilliant rhyming make this as funky and soulful as some of Prince's best work.
5. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest: This one grows on you faster than their earlier records, and fans of the Grateful Dead and the Band will love to hear roots rock being updated for a new generation. This makes two masterpieces in row for the surprise success of the year.
4. Sunn O)) - Monoliths & Dimensions: Is this a classical piece or a metal record? It hardly matters how it's classified - you've never heard anything like this. A long cascade of choirs, jazz musicians, and guitar virtuosos, this one gets deeper inside of you every time you play it.
3. The Dream - Love vs. Money: It sold a few copies but still remains the underrated pop record of 2009. After writing genius singles for other artists, he saved his best tracks for himself, and "My Love" with Mariah Carey is a rare feat: a heartbreaking club single. No other artist alive could pull off a building drama like "Fancy".
2. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic: Even as unpredictable as this band has always been, we still couldn't have seen this coming. Without a clean pop moment, they run back to the underground and make a long, destructive drug trip of an album that is also their best effort since the Soft Bulletin.
1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion: Has there ever been such as obvious album of the year? It came out in January and there was never any doubt - they've arrived. All of their unfocused ideas and ambitions has been organized into a perfect album. Every track offers flowing harmonies, layered but subtle electronics, and driving tribal beats that add up to eleven slices of indie pop heaven. To make their year even better, they even tacked on the equally as brilliant Fall Be Kind EP this month. Is this what music will sound like in the new decade? After hearing this record, I'm optimistic.
I'm taking a few weeks off from writing - I'm not really sure how long. Probably until another great record comes out that I want to write about.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, and God Bless.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
100 Greatest Albums Of The Decade (5-1)
5. White Stripes - Elephant: As we wonder whether they will ever release a new record amidst Jack White's numerous side projects, all that is left to say about the White Stripes is that they were the decade's best American band. They made five brilliant uncompromising records using outdated equipment and only two people. They sold millions of records and made "Seven Nation Army" into a new standard for college marching bands. But most of all, they somehow expanded the possibilities of modern music by looking decades into the past.
Everything they did sounded 10 times louder, unrestrained, and urgent on Elephant. "Black Math" and "Hypnotize" made it clear who the king and queen of this "garage rock" movement was, while "There's No Home For You Here" showed that imagination could trump modern studio equipment any day. If there was a more thrilling rock record in the past ten years, I sure didn't hear it.
4. Jay-Z - Blueprint: This decade had a little of everything for Shawn Carter: three brilliant albums, three mediocre albums, a relationship with Beyonce, partial ownership of an NBA team, his own clothing and liquor lines...I could go on. But with this record, there were no gimmicks or explanations needed, just 13 perfect hip-hop tracks with pop hooks and a new standard in innovative production (some of which was by a then unknown Kanye West).
What makes this album stand out in his vast catalog is a laid back feeling that he isn't trying too hard. In "Ain't No Love" he jokes "sensitive thugs, you all need hugs" like there really wasn't anything to be upset about in the rap game. After this, he ruled rap for the rest of the decade, but he'll never beat this one.
3. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: "Tall buildings shake, voices escape singing sad sad songs..." The words of "Jesus, etc." were written and recorded prior to September 11 and felt even more unnerving after it. Due to a drawn out record label battle that warranted its own movie, this album didn't hit stores until 2002 after being streamed on the internet by Wilco for over a year. When it finally hit the masses, everybody knew that Americana music had just turned a corner.
Starting as a straight-forward alternative country band, Wilco went on to release four records this decade that covered more ground than most any American band. With its studio experimentation and alienated lyrics, none of them topped the beauty of this one. "War On War" and "Pot Kettle Black" showed that you could layer sounds into simple pop-rock songs without wearing them down, and atmospheric mood pieces like "Radio Cure" and "Reservations" fit right in to make this album just as OK Computer as it was American Beauty. This was the highlight of American rock music this decade and will be talked about decades from now.
2. Radiohead - Kid A: In late 2000, when I heard this album for the first time not on CD but on Napster a few weeks before it's release (a sign of the times already), I had never been so confounded or confused in my life. It sounded like a incomprehensible mess of random noises. The first track tells you that "everything is in its right place", and it only took a few listens for me to agree. Every note of every second of this record is planned carefully and perfectly, whether its the scrambled voice on "Kid A" (hello, auto-tune!), the free-form jazz horns on "National Anthem", the acid freakout at the end of "Optimistic", or the apocalyptic disco beats of "Idiotique".
But the track that really holds it all together is "How To Disappear Completely". Radiohead had become the masters of guitar-drowned alienation on OK Computer, but now they were writing modern compositions that were without peer. Closer to an opera or a Scott Walker track than actual rock, this song used swirling layers of guitar, keyboards, and violins to intensify the lyrics "I'm not here, this isn't happening" to breathtaking effect. The result is a feeling of sorrow, dread, and paranoia that resonated through the record and, in the aftermath of 9/11, through the decade.
1. Arcade Fire - Funeral: Every year, a dozen or so great albums come along that play on strengths and display something we haven't quite heard before. But really, what makes music worth investing our time and money is albums like this: joyous, cathartic expressions of human emotion, hope, and possibility. Pet Sounds. Born To Run. Joshua Tree. The Soft Bulletin. Funeral.
Released in 2004 and largely unavailable in stores until 2005, the debut record by the Arcade Fire is the kind of record that could only be sold by word-of-mouth praise and live performances. No radio or video station was about to promote a band who dressed like they were from the 1920's or played accordions and xylophones in their songs. And yet, they were on the billboard and primetime TV just three years later.
Their live shows captured the spirit of early Springsteen and U2 shows like no other band this decade. They believe in rock music not as a series of catchy tunes, but as a communal, enlightening experience that is equally personal (three members of this band had deaths in their family during the recording of Funeral) and universal (the video for "Rebellion (Lies)" appropriately displays masses marching in the street shouting lyrics in unison).
Five years later, not a second of this album has lost its power. The anthemic choruses of "Power Out" and "Wake Up" will sound as fresh and relevant 30 years from now as "Born To Run" does today. Perhaps the defining lyric of this record is "the power's out in the heart of man, take it from your heart, put it in your hand", implying that in 2004, we needed a reason to believe again, in music or in something greater.
This record showed us that music still has endless possibilities to be explored and there will always be a reason to keep exploring because, if only once every then years, your ears will fall upon something like this. That sounds like the album of the decade to me.
Everything they did sounded 10 times louder, unrestrained, and urgent on Elephant. "Black Math" and "Hypnotize" made it clear who the king and queen of this "garage rock" movement was, while "There's No Home For You Here" showed that imagination could trump modern studio equipment any day. If there was a more thrilling rock record in the past ten years, I sure didn't hear it.
4. Jay-Z - Blueprint: This decade had a little of everything for Shawn Carter: three brilliant albums, three mediocre albums, a relationship with Beyonce, partial ownership of an NBA team, his own clothing and liquor lines...I could go on. But with this record, there were no gimmicks or explanations needed, just 13 perfect hip-hop tracks with pop hooks and a new standard in innovative production (some of which was by a then unknown Kanye West).
What makes this album stand out in his vast catalog is a laid back feeling that he isn't trying too hard. In "Ain't No Love" he jokes "sensitive thugs, you all need hugs" like there really wasn't anything to be upset about in the rap game. After this, he ruled rap for the rest of the decade, but he'll never beat this one.
3. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: "Tall buildings shake, voices escape singing sad sad songs..." The words of "Jesus, etc." were written and recorded prior to September 11 and felt even more unnerving after it. Due to a drawn out record label battle that warranted its own movie, this album didn't hit stores until 2002 after being streamed on the internet by Wilco for over a year. When it finally hit the masses, everybody knew that Americana music had just turned a corner.
Starting as a straight-forward alternative country band, Wilco went on to release four records this decade that covered more ground than most any American band. With its studio experimentation and alienated lyrics, none of them topped the beauty of this one. "War On War" and "Pot Kettle Black" showed that you could layer sounds into simple pop-rock songs without wearing them down, and atmospheric mood pieces like "Radio Cure" and "Reservations" fit right in to make this album just as OK Computer as it was American Beauty. This was the highlight of American rock music this decade and will be talked about decades from now.
2. Radiohead - Kid A: In late 2000, when I heard this album for the first time not on CD but on Napster a few weeks before it's release (a sign of the times already), I had never been so confounded or confused in my life. It sounded like a incomprehensible mess of random noises. The first track tells you that "everything is in its right place", and it only took a few listens for me to agree. Every note of every second of this record is planned carefully and perfectly, whether its the scrambled voice on "Kid A" (hello, auto-tune!), the free-form jazz horns on "National Anthem", the acid freakout at the end of "Optimistic", or the apocalyptic disco beats of "Idiotique".
But the track that really holds it all together is "How To Disappear Completely". Radiohead had become the masters of guitar-drowned alienation on OK Computer, but now they were writing modern compositions that were without peer. Closer to an opera or a Scott Walker track than actual rock, this song used swirling layers of guitar, keyboards, and violins to intensify the lyrics "I'm not here, this isn't happening" to breathtaking effect. The result is a feeling of sorrow, dread, and paranoia that resonated through the record and, in the aftermath of 9/11, through the decade.
1. Arcade Fire - Funeral: Every year, a dozen or so great albums come along that play on strengths and display something we haven't quite heard before. But really, what makes music worth investing our time and money is albums like this: joyous, cathartic expressions of human emotion, hope, and possibility. Pet Sounds. Born To Run. Joshua Tree. The Soft Bulletin. Funeral.
Released in 2004 and largely unavailable in stores until 2005, the debut record by the Arcade Fire is the kind of record that could only be sold by word-of-mouth praise and live performances. No radio or video station was about to promote a band who dressed like they were from the 1920's or played accordions and xylophones in their songs. And yet, they were on the billboard and primetime TV just three years later.
Their live shows captured the spirit of early Springsteen and U2 shows like no other band this decade. They believe in rock music not as a series of catchy tunes, but as a communal, enlightening experience that is equally personal (three members of this band had deaths in their family during the recording of Funeral) and universal (the video for "Rebellion (Lies)" appropriately displays masses marching in the street shouting lyrics in unison).
Five years later, not a second of this album has lost its power. The anthemic choruses of "Power Out" and "Wake Up" will sound as fresh and relevant 30 years from now as "Born To Run" does today. Perhaps the defining lyric of this record is "the power's out in the heart of man, take it from your heart, put it in your hand", implying that in 2004, we needed a reason to believe again, in music or in something greater.
This record showed us that music still has endless possibilities to be explored and there will always be a reason to keep exploring because, if only once every then years, your ears will fall upon something like this. That sounds like the album of the decade to me.
100 Greatest Albums Of The Decade (20-6)
20. The National - Boxer: After Alligator, they probably could have made an anthem-filled rock record and gone platinum. Instead, they made a haunting suite of urban alienation that sounds like an indie update on Automatic For The People. The brooding vocals, paranoid lyricism and driving rhythm section make this album late-night perfection.
19. My Morning Jacket - Z: How was this album not bigger? With its catchy choruses and multiple guitar attack, it seems like this should have been this decade's Led Zeppelin 4. It did earn them some share of a spotlight and make them one of America's favorite alternative bands, and their string of great records never got more perfect than this one.
18. Kanye West - Late Registration: Let's put the intolerable awards show freakouts aside - this was one of the decade's most important pop artists. When he decided to team up with Jon Brion and add complex orchestrations to simple rap tracks, one of the greatest hip-hop records ever happened. When I hear the ambition on tracks like "Crack Music", I can only hope he ever tries this hard again.
17. Brian Wilson - Smile: It only took four decades to finish, and here it is. Never mind the complaints about how he never finished it with the Beach Boys and how it would have been better in 1968. Just let your ears be blessed by a piece of true pop imagination. Could anybody else have put together and sung pieces like "Wonderful" or "Surf's Up"? In any decade?
16. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning: His prolific output can be frustrating to wade through, but this was his one truly perfect album. Images of war and failed relationships become indistinguishable and guitars and trumpets tell stories as well as Connor Oberst does. Jim James and Emmylou Harris lend their voices at just the right time, and this album revitalized protest music in indie rock.
15. The Strokes - Is This It?: They came in went in almost a blur, just like a great punk band should. In just one 30 minute album, they opened the door to hundreds of minimalist punk bands and rode a massive wave of hype to become the "next big thing". OK, they never sold what Nirvana did, but it was nice while it lasted and we will always have this breath of fresh air to remember.
14. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago: By the end of 2008, this album was a secret to everyone. Written and (mostly) recorded in the isolation of a log cabin, this record sounds as lonely and personal to every person who spends time with it. A year later, he's jumping around to different projects and has critics hanging on his every move. Do we have a new Sufjan Stevens already?
13. Eminem - Marshall Mather's LP: Whether you would like to admit it or not, this could be this decade's Thriller. This album was bigger than all of us. Everybody knows the chorus to "Real Slim Shady" and everybody watched Eminem and Elton John on the Grammy's. There is no escape. Anybody who claims they hate this album is trying to sell you something.
12. Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America: Several of their albums could go on this list, but this is the one that lyrically stuck with me. Sounding like a bar band and telling the stories of desperate suburban lowlifes is nothing new, but why doesn't anybody else do it like this? Even when it slows down, this is a party album, and it makes you with more bands worshipped at the alter of Bruce Springsteen.
11. Radiohead - In Rainbows: In case they weren't there already, this album ensures that Radiohead is one of the most innovative and important rock bands that ever existed. If the bizarre distribution scheme and complete lack of prior advertising didn't shock you, the quality of the heartfelt songwriting and musicianship will. What could this band possibly pull off next?
10. TV On The Radio - Dear Science,: Most of the albums on this list sound like the pinnacles of modern music, but this album is how we can only hope music sounds ten years from now. They make no regard for the boundaries between rock, rap, soul, and blues, just like they make no regard for what music is personal and what is political - there is something for everybody here, just like the song "Golden Age" promised.
9. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine: Even if you want to argue about which version is better, let's agree that Fiona's only album of this decade was an art-pop stroke of genius. In fact, she seemed to have crammed all of her ideas into a small space knowing that another record wasn't going to happen. "Red Red Red" and "Waltz (Better Than Fine)" sound even more bizarre and bewildering the tenth time you play them. Please, give us more.
8. Outkast - Stankonia: No song sums up this decade in music, politics, and the shear possibilities of creativity than the song "B.O.B.". This track is a thrill ride at 120 mph, much like the album surrounding it. This album rode the popularity of a few hits to make Outkast household names in rap and pop music, and they never looked back: in the following years, they got more ridiculous and less focused until they imploded. Until then, what a ride we enjoyed.
7. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion: This album is the kind of pinnacle you always hope a band with reach, but most never do. After years of turning great ideas into almost-cohesive records, they realized that voices and songwriting were their strengths more than layers of instrumental loops. The results is bliss. "My Girls" and "Summertime Clothes" explore adulthood by filling it with the joy and simplicity of childhood, and the result is something that we can only hope is the future of indie music.
6. Sufjan Stevens - Come Feel The Illinoise!: Although it set off a wave of neo-folk imitators, there is still nothing that sounds like this album. Only any track here, there is almost more going on that the human brain can comprehend: vocal interplay, shifting time signatures, lyrics about historical figures, and more than 40 instruments. But something about every track will stick with you, whether it's the pleating chorus in "They Are Night Zombies", the heartbreaking trumpet solo in "Casimir Pulaski Day", or the heavenly choral at the end of "Chicago". There are more gorgeous moments on this album than I can count - so many that I don't care if we ever get a sequel.
19. My Morning Jacket - Z: How was this album not bigger? With its catchy choruses and multiple guitar attack, it seems like this should have been this decade's Led Zeppelin 4. It did earn them some share of a spotlight and make them one of America's favorite alternative bands, and their string of great records never got more perfect than this one.
18. Kanye West - Late Registration: Let's put the intolerable awards show freakouts aside - this was one of the decade's most important pop artists. When he decided to team up with Jon Brion and add complex orchestrations to simple rap tracks, one of the greatest hip-hop records ever happened. When I hear the ambition on tracks like "Crack Music", I can only hope he ever tries this hard again.
17. Brian Wilson - Smile: It only took four decades to finish, and here it is. Never mind the complaints about how he never finished it with the Beach Boys and how it would have been better in 1968. Just let your ears be blessed by a piece of true pop imagination. Could anybody else have put together and sung pieces like "Wonderful" or "Surf's Up"? In any decade?
16. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning: His prolific output can be frustrating to wade through, but this was his one truly perfect album. Images of war and failed relationships become indistinguishable and guitars and trumpets tell stories as well as Connor Oberst does. Jim James and Emmylou Harris lend their voices at just the right time, and this album revitalized protest music in indie rock.
15. The Strokes - Is This It?: They came in went in almost a blur, just like a great punk band should. In just one 30 minute album, they opened the door to hundreds of minimalist punk bands and rode a massive wave of hype to become the "next big thing". OK, they never sold what Nirvana did, but it was nice while it lasted and we will always have this breath of fresh air to remember.
14. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago: By the end of 2008, this album was a secret to everyone. Written and (mostly) recorded in the isolation of a log cabin, this record sounds as lonely and personal to every person who spends time with it. A year later, he's jumping around to different projects and has critics hanging on his every move. Do we have a new Sufjan Stevens already?
13. Eminem - Marshall Mather's LP: Whether you would like to admit it or not, this could be this decade's Thriller. This album was bigger than all of us. Everybody knows the chorus to "Real Slim Shady" and everybody watched Eminem and Elton John on the Grammy's. There is no escape. Anybody who claims they hate this album is trying to sell you something.
12. Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America: Several of their albums could go on this list, but this is the one that lyrically stuck with me. Sounding like a bar band and telling the stories of desperate suburban lowlifes is nothing new, but why doesn't anybody else do it like this? Even when it slows down, this is a party album, and it makes you with more bands worshipped at the alter of Bruce Springsteen.
11. Radiohead - In Rainbows: In case they weren't there already, this album ensures that Radiohead is one of the most innovative and important rock bands that ever existed. If the bizarre distribution scheme and complete lack of prior advertising didn't shock you, the quality of the heartfelt songwriting and musicianship will. What could this band possibly pull off next?
10. TV On The Radio - Dear Science,: Most of the albums on this list sound like the pinnacles of modern music, but this album is how we can only hope music sounds ten years from now. They make no regard for the boundaries between rock, rap, soul, and blues, just like they make no regard for what music is personal and what is political - there is something for everybody here, just like the song "Golden Age" promised.
9. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine: Even if you want to argue about which version is better, let's agree that Fiona's only album of this decade was an art-pop stroke of genius. In fact, she seemed to have crammed all of her ideas into a small space knowing that another record wasn't going to happen. "Red Red Red" and "Waltz (Better Than Fine)" sound even more bizarre and bewildering the tenth time you play them. Please, give us more.
8. Outkast - Stankonia: No song sums up this decade in music, politics, and the shear possibilities of creativity than the song "B.O.B.". This track is a thrill ride at 120 mph, much like the album surrounding it. This album rode the popularity of a few hits to make Outkast household names in rap and pop music, and they never looked back: in the following years, they got more ridiculous and less focused until they imploded. Until then, what a ride we enjoyed.
7. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion: This album is the kind of pinnacle you always hope a band with reach, but most never do. After years of turning great ideas into almost-cohesive records, they realized that voices and songwriting were their strengths more than layers of instrumental loops. The results is bliss. "My Girls" and "Summertime Clothes" explore adulthood by filling it with the joy and simplicity of childhood, and the result is something that we can only hope is the future of indie music.
6. Sufjan Stevens - Come Feel The Illinoise!: Although it set off a wave of neo-folk imitators, there is still nothing that sounds like this album. Only any track here, there is almost more going on that the human brain can comprehend: vocal interplay, shifting time signatures, lyrics about historical figures, and more than 40 instruments. But something about every track will stick with you, whether it's the pleating chorus in "They Are Night Zombies", the heartbreaking trumpet solo in "Casimir Pulaski Day", or the heavenly choral at the end of "Chicago". There are more gorgeous moments on this album than I can count - so many that I don't care if we ever get a sequel.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
100 Greatest Albums Of The Decade (50-21)
50. Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker: In a decade full of good records (11 albums in 10 years!) his debut remains his finest; his songwriting never got more heartfelt and beautiful than it did on "Oh My Sweet Carolina".
49. Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose: A country legend and Jack White made this decade's most random and most brilliant team-up. This is the best of Jack's uncountable side projects and a fitting tribute to her 5-decade plus career.
48. Portishead - Third: After 11 years of waiting, we got another masterpiece out of them. When you need a late-night mood setter, nobody tops the battered voice of Beth Gibbons.
47. Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots: Creating a "worthy" follow-up to The Soft Bulletin is almost impossible, but they did it by finding humanity in electronic music and achieved a strange route to popularity on the way.
46. Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury: In a decade full of unreleased mixtapes and fights with record labels, Clipse managed to release one brutal, raw rap landmark into stores.
45. White Stripes - White Blood Cells: The genius started two records ago for them, but the spotlight starts here. After this, Jack owns rock music for the rest of the decade.
44. Dave Matthews Band - Lilywhite Sessions: Can I include this even though it isn't a real album? Dave peaks as a songwriter and a singer, but you have to go to a bootlegger to hear it.
43. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes: One of the decades most instantly adored debut record. They delivered folk ballads and stunning harmonies, and it landed them on every prime time TV show within months.
42. Beck - Sea Change: It wasn't a very solid decade for Beck, but he dropped one stunner by setting a new standard in break-up albums.
41. Bob Dylan - Love & Theft: Past the age of 60, Bob moves forward by reaching even further back in the American songbook. He set a trend of aging geniuses reviving their career this decade.
40. Sunn O)) - Monolith's and Dimensions: Is this a classical piece or a metal album? Just one of the most inexplicably beautiful albums in years.
39. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!: This guy is having one brilliant mid-life crisis: think Iggy Pop preaching the Bible on drugs. It was a great decade to be Nick.
38. Over The Rhine - Ohio: A soft, fragile, and mostly overlooked album that explores religion and womanhood from enough angles to fill two discs. I think painfully beautiful sums it up best.
37. LCD Soundsystem - Sounds Of Silver: This album has the power to make you laugh and cry, but mostly just dance. "All My Friends" might be one of the decade's most memorable tracks.
36. Joanna Newsome - Y's: What is there to say about a orchestral harp-based record with elf sounding vocals? I guess you just have to hear it. It's the storytelling that really sticks with you.
35. Coldplay - A Rush of Blood To The Head: I know they were everywhere and they are overbearing, but can't we admit they did some great records this decade? This is their best balance of dramatic songwriting and pop hooks.
34. Panda Bear - Person Pitch: Some of the decade's best records came from people making electronic music warm and human. That's part of the story here, but the bursts of harmonies and what really stick with you.
33. Green Day - American Idiot: Even Green Day fans had no idea that they were capable of this depth and complexity. The radio will be playing these songs decades from now.
32. Tom Waits - Alice: Of all the great albums Tom released this decade (there were 4 of them) the haunting storytelling and bleak orchestrations make this the best.
31. Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner: This album has a brutal, raw emotion that is rarely even matched in hip-hop and brilliant production to match it.
30. TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain: Soul music Incorporated into indie rock: why don't more people try that. A rare album that manages to be funky and brooding.
29. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/Lyre Of Orpheus: Nick tries to do everything he's ever done in his career on two discs and everything works. The scope of moods and lyrics on this album is the right kind of overwhelming.
28. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible: On their second masterpiece, they turn to Bruce Springsteen and Joy Division for influence and write more rock anthems we can all yell along with.
27. Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica: Another band who had multiple brilliant albums this decade, this one was the best: catchy guitar hooks and rants about science and death.
26. Joe Henry - Civilians: This album takes my award for most overlooked record of the decade. Brilliant stories, deep blues rhythms, heart wrenching vocals... and barely anybody flipped over this album?
25. Flaming Lips - Embryonic: Call this a late entry. After gaining popularity for live shows and having the official Oklahoma rock song, they head right back to the underground and make a mutant drug-trip of a record. No band surprised me more times this decade.
24. The Streets - Original Pirate Material: This might be the first proof that you can make a brilliant influential record alone on your lap-top. The spare electronic beats and vocal humor influenced a lot of what was to come for underground hip-hop.
23. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism: An already solid band gets famous for releasing their best record? One this album started getting played on TV shows, America took notice of the beauty in their spare guitar hooks and emotional lyricism.
22. Scott Walker - The Drift: Maybe the bleakest album ever made. Also a stunning composition and a modern work of art for anybody who isn't scarred away from it.
21. Sufjan Stevens - Greetings From Michigan: This guy might be the most confusing figure in indie music, but he's also a genius. This is a stunning trip though the aftermath of economic ruin and the wavering faith in God and love. Tell me you didn't cry once during this record.
49. Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose: A country legend and Jack White made this decade's most random and most brilliant team-up. This is the best of Jack's uncountable side projects and a fitting tribute to her 5-decade plus career.
48. Portishead - Third: After 11 years of waiting, we got another masterpiece out of them. When you need a late-night mood setter, nobody tops the battered voice of Beth Gibbons.
47. Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots: Creating a "worthy" follow-up to The Soft Bulletin is almost impossible, but they did it by finding humanity in electronic music and achieved a strange route to popularity on the way.
46. Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury: In a decade full of unreleased mixtapes and fights with record labels, Clipse managed to release one brutal, raw rap landmark into stores.
45. White Stripes - White Blood Cells: The genius started two records ago for them, but the spotlight starts here. After this, Jack owns rock music for the rest of the decade.
44. Dave Matthews Band - Lilywhite Sessions: Can I include this even though it isn't a real album? Dave peaks as a songwriter and a singer, but you have to go to a bootlegger to hear it.
43. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes: One of the decades most instantly adored debut record. They delivered folk ballads and stunning harmonies, and it landed them on every prime time TV show within months.
42. Beck - Sea Change: It wasn't a very solid decade for Beck, but he dropped one stunner by setting a new standard in break-up albums.
41. Bob Dylan - Love & Theft: Past the age of 60, Bob moves forward by reaching even further back in the American songbook. He set a trend of aging geniuses reviving their career this decade.
40. Sunn O)) - Monolith's and Dimensions: Is this a classical piece or a metal album? Just one of the most inexplicably beautiful albums in years.
39. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!: This guy is having one brilliant mid-life crisis: think Iggy Pop preaching the Bible on drugs. It was a great decade to be Nick.
38. Over The Rhine - Ohio: A soft, fragile, and mostly overlooked album that explores religion and womanhood from enough angles to fill two discs. I think painfully beautiful sums it up best.
37. LCD Soundsystem - Sounds Of Silver: This album has the power to make you laugh and cry, but mostly just dance. "All My Friends" might be one of the decade's most memorable tracks.
36. Joanna Newsome - Y's: What is there to say about a orchestral harp-based record with elf sounding vocals? I guess you just have to hear it. It's the storytelling that really sticks with you.
35. Coldplay - A Rush of Blood To The Head: I know they were everywhere and they are overbearing, but can't we admit they did some great records this decade? This is their best balance of dramatic songwriting and pop hooks.
34. Panda Bear - Person Pitch: Some of the decade's best records came from people making electronic music warm and human. That's part of the story here, but the bursts of harmonies and what really stick with you.
33. Green Day - American Idiot: Even Green Day fans had no idea that they were capable of this depth and complexity. The radio will be playing these songs decades from now.
32. Tom Waits - Alice: Of all the great albums Tom released this decade (there were 4 of them) the haunting storytelling and bleak orchestrations make this the best.
31. Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner: This album has a brutal, raw emotion that is rarely even matched in hip-hop and brilliant production to match it.
30. TV On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain: Soul music Incorporated into indie rock: why don't more people try that. A rare album that manages to be funky and brooding.
29. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/Lyre Of Orpheus: Nick tries to do everything he's ever done in his career on two discs and everything works. The scope of moods and lyrics on this album is the right kind of overwhelming.
28. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible: On their second masterpiece, they turn to Bruce Springsteen and Joy Division for influence and write more rock anthems we can all yell along with.
27. Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica: Another band who had multiple brilliant albums this decade, this one was the best: catchy guitar hooks and rants about science and death.
26. Joe Henry - Civilians: This album takes my award for most overlooked record of the decade. Brilliant stories, deep blues rhythms, heart wrenching vocals... and barely anybody flipped over this album?
25. Flaming Lips - Embryonic: Call this a late entry. After gaining popularity for live shows and having the official Oklahoma rock song, they head right back to the underground and make a mutant drug-trip of a record. No band surprised me more times this decade.
24. The Streets - Original Pirate Material: This might be the first proof that you can make a brilliant influential record alone on your lap-top. The spare electronic beats and vocal humor influenced a lot of what was to come for underground hip-hop.
23. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism: An already solid band gets famous for releasing their best record? One this album started getting played on TV shows, America took notice of the beauty in their spare guitar hooks and emotional lyricism.
22. Scott Walker - The Drift: Maybe the bleakest album ever made. Also a stunning composition and a modern work of art for anybody who isn't scarred away from it.
21. Sufjan Stevens - Greetings From Michigan: This guy might be the most confusing figure in indie music, but he's also a genius. This is a stunning trip though the aftermath of economic ruin and the wavering faith in God and love. Tell me you didn't cry once during this record.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
100 Greatest Albums Of The Decade (100-51)
I've done it. I've made a list. Call me obsessive, call me insane, but I compiled a list. I've sat in my apartment arguing with myself on whether or not the likes of Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake belong on this list (verdict: yes). I've sat in boring meetings at work thinking "do I really like Portishead's Third more than Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots? I've called each of the top five albums on this list my favorite album of the decade and then I've listened to each of them consecutively to compare. This is what I came up with. It isn't perfect, but I want to put it down before I change my mind.
I am going to breeze through the first 50 without explanation, but I'll write a little on each one as I get closer to the top.
Without further ado, the 100 Greatest Albums Of The Decade:
100. Sigur Ros - ()
99. Taylor Swift - Fearless
98. Shearwater - Rook
97. Nickel Creek - This Side
96. Richmond Fontaine - The Fitzgerald
95. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
94. Justin Timberlake - Future Sex/Love Sounds
93. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
92. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
91. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
90. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
89. Silverchair - Young Modern
88. Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator)
87. Patti Griffin - Children Running Through
86. Microphones - The Glow, pt. 2
85. Madvillian - Madvilliany
84. Jay-Z - Black Album
83. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
82. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever To Tell
81. Jenny Lewis - Rabbit Fur Coat
80. Bright Eyes - Lifted...
79. Joseph Arthur - Come To Where I'm From
78. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
77. U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
76. N.E.R.D. - In Search Of...
75. Alejandro Escovado - Real Animal
74. The National - Alligator
73. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
72. M.I.A. - Kala
71. Postal Service - Give Up
70. Q-Tip - Kamaal The Abstract
69. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
68. White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
67. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free
66. Deerhunter - Microcastle
65. Walkmen - Bows + Arrows
64. Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
63. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
82. Lucinda Williams - World Without Tears
61. Spoon - Kill The Moonlight
60. Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy
59. Eels - Blinking Lights And Other Revelations
58. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
57. Kanye West - College Dropout
56. Sigur Ros - Agaelis Byrjun
55. Vince Gill - These Days
54. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
53. The Dream - Love vs. Money
52. Opeth - Blackwater Park
51. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
I am going to breeze through the first 50 without explanation, but I'll write a little on each one as I get closer to the top.
Without further ado, the 100 Greatest Albums Of The Decade:
100. Sigur Ros - ()
99. Taylor Swift - Fearless
98. Shearwater - Rook
97. Nickel Creek - This Side
96. Richmond Fontaine - The Fitzgerald
95. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
94. Justin Timberlake - Future Sex/Love Sounds
93. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
92. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
91. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
90. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
89. Silverchair - Young Modern
88. Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator)
87. Patti Griffin - Children Running Through
86. Microphones - The Glow, pt. 2
85. Madvillian - Madvilliany
84. Jay-Z - Black Album
83. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
82. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever To Tell
81. Jenny Lewis - Rabbit Fur Coat
80. Bright Eyes - Lifted...
79. Joseph Arthur - Come To Where I'm From
78. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
77. U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
76. N.E.R.D. - In Search Of...
75. Alejandro Escovado - Real Animal
74. The National - Alligator
73. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
72. M.I.A. - Kala
71. Postal Service - Give Up
70. Q-Tip - Kamaal The Abstract
69. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
68. White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
67. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free
66. Deerhunter - Microcastle
65. Walkmen - Bows + Arrows
64. Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
63. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
82. Lucinda Williams - World Without Tears
61. Spoon - Kill The Moonlight
60. Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy
59. Eels - Blinking Lights And Other Revelations
58. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
57. Kanye West - College Dropout
56. Sigur Ros - Agaelis Byrjun
55. Vince Gill - These Days
54. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
53. The Dream - Love vs. Money
52. Opeth - Blackwater Park
51. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
Monday, December 7, 2009
Never released but worth hunting down
As the decade comes to a close, I have to give some credit to one of the things that made this decade in music great - online music bootlegging. When Napster came along about a decade ago, the bootleg went to a new level. It became possible for a leaked record to reach the masses in minutes, whereas it took years for Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes to do the same thing in the 60s.
With that said, here are some of my favorite bootleg records of the past decade. You can find them on blogs and Mediafire, but you sure won't find any of these in record stores.
Ryan Adams - The Suicide Handbook: These emotionally bare 21 acoustic tracks are some of the most compelling and melodic tunes he ever recorded. Made between Heartbreaker and Gold, these recordings strip him down to the core and deliver a few alternate versions and several astounding originals. Check out this version of "Firecracker".
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (Jon Brion version): Part of the fun in this one is doing a song-by-song comparison of these tracks and what was actually released. Aside from "Parting Gift" not being present here, the tracklist is the same, but these versions are darker, edgier, and less produced. Really, you need both versions to get a picture of what a brilliant record this was.
Clipse - Exclusive Audio Footage: Why didn't the record label think this could sell? It is more "pop" and full sounding than the brilliant Hell Hath No Fury, and it has a catchy single in "The Funeral" tht could have been a club hit. A decade later, this record is still not released. I do not understand the rap industry.
Q-Tip - Kamaal The Abstract: They finally released it! Forget I even mentioned it here.
Danger Mouse - The Grey Album: A smart and occasionally hilarious experiment that mixes Jay-Z's Black Album with the Beatles' White Album. A fun listen, but more importantly the first of it's kind and a milestone for DJ sampling technique.
Dave Matthews Band - The Lilywhite Sessions: To me, this is the most important one on this list for a few reasons. First, it was recorded by a band that already had legions of fans. Second, it hit the bootleg circuit at the same time the band released a vastly inferior record (the train wreck called Everyday). Third, it still stands as the best studio recording of this band's almost two decade career. And finally, it is simply a beautiful, heartbreaking and thoughtful album that will go beyond being a curiosity: you will want to hear this one repeatedly. Good show, Dave. Now if only you would have released it...
Have fun tracking these ones down.
With that said, here are some of my favorite bootleg records of the past decade. You can find them on blogs and Mediafire, but you sure won't find any of these in record stores.
Ryan Adams - The Suicide Handbook: These emotionally bare 21 acoustic tracks are some of the most compelling and melodic tunes he ever recorded. Made between Heartbreaker and Gold, these recordings strip him down to the core and deliver a few alternate versions and several astounding originals. Check out this version of "Firecracker".
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (Jon Brion version): Part of the fun in this one is doing a song-by-song comparison of these tracks and what was actually released. Aside from "Parting Gift" not being present here, the tracklist is the same, but these versions are darker, edgier, and less produced. Really, you need both versions to get a picture of what a brilliant record this was.
Clipse - Exclusive Audio Footage: Why didn't the record label think this could sell? It is more "pop" and full sounding than the brilliant Hell Hath No Fury, and it has a catchy single in "The Funeral" tht could have been a club hit. A decade later, this record is still not released. I do not understand the rap industry.
Q-Tip - Kamaal The Abstract: They finally released it! Forget I even mentioned it here.
Danger Mouse - The Grey Album: A smart and occasionally hilarious experiment that mixes Jay-Z's Black Album with the Beatles' White Album. A fun listen, but more importantly the first of it's kind and a milestone for DJ sampling technique.
Dave Matthews Band - The Lilywhite Sessions: To me, this is the most important one on this list for a few reasons. First, it was recorded by a band that already had legions of fans. Second, it hit the bootleg circuit at the same time the band released a vastly inferior record (the train wreck called Everyday). Third, it still stands as the best studio recording of this band's almost two decade career. And finally, it is simply a beautiful, heartbreaking and thoughtful album that will go beyond being a curiosity: you will want to hear this one repeatedly. Good show, Dave. Now if only you would have released it...
Have fun tracking these ones down.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Tom Moon's 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die
That's right, I can read too! I don't just listen to music. I picked up a copy of Tom Moon's 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die this weekend because these end-of-decade lists that are popping up (check out Pitchfork's as well as NPR's All Songs Considered) made me interested in the notion of documenting what is "important" in the past several decades of music. But really, how can anybody do this? How do you listen to Beethoven, Miles Davis, Dr. Dre, Stevie Wonder, and the Beatles and explain what a new set of ears need to hear?
Well, this book makes about the most solid attempt I've ever seen. 1,000 Recordings beautifully documents a critics obsession of music. Tom Moon tries to provide a starting point for anybody who has ever wanted to collect music and some new things to discover for those who already do. The artists are arranged alphabetically making no separation between genres or decades, only 1,000 brief pieces (half to one page each) on the recordings that are landmarks of whatever genre or decade they are from. With each recording, he also provides records to continue to if you liked the one you read about, therefore when you get obsessed with Springsteen's Born To Run, you'll know to move on to The River and Nebraska. Tom Moon knows that this book can't contain everything, but you have to start somewhere.
I have my complaints about this book as any opinionated music snob would (Where is Nick Cave? Is Mutations really the best Beck album?), but this is an extremely satisfying way to spend twenty bucks and a few hours. I haven't counted yet, but I probably own less than half of these albums, so I suppose I have a lot of work to do.
Read, listen, discover, enjoy. Have a great Thanksgiving.
Well, this book makes about the most solid attempt I've ever seen. 1,000 Recordings beautifully documents a critics obsession of music. Tom Moon tries to provide a starting point for anybody who has ever wanted to collect music and some new things to discover for those who already do. The artists are arranged alphabetically making no separation between genres or decades, only 1,000 brief pieces (half to one page each) on the recordings that are landmarks of whatever genre or decade they are from. With each recording, he also provides records to continue to if you liked the one you read about, therefore when you get obsessed with Springsteen's Born To Run, you'll know to move on to The River and Nebraska. Tom Moon knows that this book can't contain everything, but you have to start somewhere.
I have my complaints about this book as any opinionated music snob would (Where is Nick Cave? Is Mutations really the best Beck album?), but this is an extremely satisfying way to spend twenty bucks and a few hours. I haven't counted yet, but I probably own less than half of these albums, so I suppose I have a lot of work to do.
Read, listen, discover, enjoy. Have a great Thanksgiving.
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