The Greatest Albums of the 2000s: #1

My apologies for the long delay on this final post, but I was physically drained by the time I returned from NYC, and this past week of work was pretty grueling as well.  But here it is, my number 1 album, although I
doubt it will be a surprise to most of you.



1) “Kid A”- Radiohead (2000)


 It doesn’t matter if it’s 2010 or 2050, odds are either way I’m going to still think that this was the finest musical work of the 2000s.   There’s about a million different things I love about this album, but for me, it comes down to 3 main factors.




1) Radical Sound In the year 2000, the entire world was anticipating the next Radiohead album.  Their most recent album, “OK Computer” (1997) was widely hailed as being one of the best albums of the nineties, and was a revolutionary album in its own right, in terms of both the band’s artistic maturation, and music in general.  The album also achieved widespread commercial success, going triple platinum and receiving a Grammy nomination for album of the year (not that Grammy’s matter really, just wanted to state the facts). It would have been easy, therefore, for the band to go into the Kid A recording sessions using that same OK Computer formula, but the band had other designs.  Lead singer and frontman Thom Yorke had been growing restless with same rock formulas the band had used on its previous album, and was looking for a more rhythmic sounding album, one that drew from source such as electronic, jazz, and even classical music.  This sound would rely less on traditional instruments, such as the guitar and drums, and more on synthesized sounds from modern instruments such as drum machines and other digital recording tools, as well older tools, such as the ondes martenot, an incredibly rare electronic instrument invented in 1928 (and used to great effect by Jonny Greenwood on songs like “The National Anthem” and “How to Disappear Completely”).  Even the way Yorke sang his lyrics had changed, with his voice being distorted and synthesized, almost like another instrument in the band’s recording arsenal.


Somehow the band was able to buy into the idea of a more unconventional recording style and finished Kid A by 2000.  Early reviews of the album were extremely mixed, mainly because it was such a jarring departure from the sound from their beloved OK Computer album.  Indeed, for first time listeners, the music does take some getting used to.  But the work the band put into the recording paid off, because they built an amazingly complex sound filled with rich layers.  The song’s strange title track, is a perfect example of this, and was truly unlike any other song that had been produced beforehand.  It’s now been 10 years, since the album was released, and even when I listen to this album today I’d be more likely to believe that it was recorded in the year 3000, rather than 2000.

Kid A - Radiohead

2) Emotionally Moving Even though the band took a drastic turn with its musical style, they still manage to employ many of the same themes that made OK Computer successful, which was capturing the sense of alienation and isolation that accompanies the growing wave of globalization and swelling of information available through the internet.  Indeed, the first decade of this century could be best characterized by the acceleration of globalization and the inevitable backlash against it, and it’s as if the band could forsee all of it before it even unfolded.  “Kid A” is not a political album, however.  Despite titles like, “The National Album,” the album is more about drawing moments of beauty from amongst the chaos.  And while there are certainly emotional downers on the disc (such as the eerie yet brilliant “Morning Bell”, a song about divorce featuring such chilling lyrics as “cut the kids in half”), there’s some uplifting moments as well, such as “Optimistic,” in which Thom tells the listener, “the best you can is good enough.”  But the emotional highpoint of the album has to be “How to Disappear Completely,” perhaps the most beautiful song on the album, and one that captures the band’s overall theme of isolation.  Still gives me chills every time I listen to it.

How To Disappear Completely - ...

 3)Timeless You know what I love about this album the most?  The fact that it was released now nearly a decade ago, and yet nothing about the music sounds dated.   Part of this has to do with that radical, futuristic sound I was talking about, and part of it has to do with vivid pictures it displays in your imagination, but I always find something fresh and exciting when I pop on the album and those first chords of “Everything in its Right Place” kick in.   There’s just an infinite number of subtle sounds hidden within each layer of the album‘s tracks, and you really have to listen to it dozens of times to really hear and appreciate all of it.  The fact of the matter is, every time I listen to this album, it sounds new, which I think is an amazing feat in the world of popular music.

Everything In Its Right Place ...

With “Kid A” Radiohead can lay claim to having two albums, the other being “OK Computer,” that are, if not the greatest albums of their respective decades, at least part of the shortlist.  That’s back to back decades of producing music of the highest caliber.  In the history of modern music, I can’t think of another band that can claim such a feat.  Now that it’s a new decade, and the fact the band looks poised to continue recording new albums, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the band went for the three peat.




Honorable Mention:

30) “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” - The Flaming Lips
29) “ Stankonia” - Outkast
28)  “Transatlanticism”- Death Cab for Cutie
27) “Amnesiac” - Radiohead
26) “Discovery”- Daft Punk

The Greatest Albums of the 2000s: #s 5-2

5) “Sound of Silver”- LCD Soundsystem (2007)

This breath-taking album from 2007, isn’t so much a collection of songs as it is a series of short-films.  That’s what each song feels like.  With songs of an average length of right around 6 minutes or so, LCD Sounsystem, aka James Murphy (a veteran producer, and founder of Daft Punk’s label, DFA Records), takes the listener through a heart-pounding journey through the trials and tribulations of getting older.  From the hard hitting electronic beats of “Get Innocuous!” through the final crashing chords of “New York I Love You, But You’re Bringing Me Down,” Murphy crafts an absolute musical masterpiece (just a warning, you may see me throw out the term “masterpiece” pretty frequently for my top 5 albums) of dance and punk music, and an album that really cuts to the heart of what it feels like to start aging past one’s prime.  Perhaps no song on the album captures this theme more powerfully than “All My Friends,” a song about meeting up with old friends for a night of partying for old times sake, and is brimming with such poignant lines as “And if the sun comes up, if the sun comes up, if the sun comes, and I still don’t want to stagger home, then it’s the memory of our betters that’s keeping us on our feet.”  For anyone out there who’s graduated college and then come back for a football game and tried to stay out late at the bars with all the students, this is a song that should be instantly relate-able.

All My Friends - LCD Soundsyst...

4) “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not”- Arctic Monkeys (2006) 

This debut album from the British indie-rock band Arctic Monkeys is truly great on a number of different levels.  One is the sheer amount of musical talent that the band showcases on every single track.  Drummer Matt Helders may be one of the best drummers alive (I normally don’t pay much attention to drummers, you can’t help but take notice at how ferociously and skillfully the kid attacks his drum kit) and lead singer Alex Turner has an uncanny talent for social observation, which he transfers to his songs through extremely sharp and clever lyrics.  What’s even more impressive is that these guys were barely even 18 when they started recording this album, so you know that we’re talking about a band with musical maturity beyond its years.  Oh, and did I also mention that this album became the fastest selling debut album in British music history, knocking off Oasis?

What makes this album a slam dunk top 5 album of the decade, however, is that, while in the process of making an album that documents life growing up in a blue-collar and hard-scrabble part of Sheffield, the Arctic Monkeys managed to capture the very essence of life as a 16-21 year old.  With topics ranging from drunken text messages, to hitting on girls on the dance floor, to tricking bouncers, to evading the police, and to re-hashing all those stories the next morning, “Whatever People Say I Am…” is a time capsule that captures perfectly how we all felt as high schoolers or underage college kids who were just trying to have a good time and overcome both boredom and society’s rules.  Now, is this a time capsule I’d want to share with my kids somewhere down the road?  No, probably not.  But this one isn’t for them…this one is for me.

From The Ritz To The Rubble - ...

3) “Graduation”-Kanye West  (2007)

“The College Drop Out” was a game changer.  “Late Registration” was an equally impressive artistic milestone.  “Graduation,” Kanye West’s third album and the last of his “college” inspired concept albums, was, to put it simply, his magnum opus.   It was the climatic apex of his much renowned capability as a master-craftsman of pop tunes and his now indomitable, Jordan-esque, sense of greatness.  “Graduation” is the album of an artist who realizes he’s all alone at the top of his game, but rather than setting the cruise control, he pushes even harder to set the bar higher and prove to the world exactly what he’s capable of.  Nowhere is this more apparent than on "Stronger," West's ode to self-aggrandizement, or the defiant “Can’t Tell Me Nothing.”  Kanye doesn’t let his mega-ego schtick overshadow the entire album though.  The album succeeds because it manages to reveal his personality in all it’s dimensions, from the nostalgic “Homecoming”, to the self-doubting “I Wonder,” and to the joyous “Good Life.”  Indeed, “Graduation” is a masterpiece of pop music on par with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and will certainly continue to be played regularly everywhere for years and years to come.

Can't Tell Me Nothing - Kanye ...

2) “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”- Wilco (2002)

Wow, what can I really say about this album?  It’s an album that’s become as iconic as Chicago’s Marina City Towers, which grace the album’s cover.  I think Pitchfork said it best back when this album came out, by saying, “No one is too good for this album; it is better than all of us.”  Amen.  Starting with the surreal yet sublime sounds of the opening track, “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” the album is a revelation of classic rock influences meets the modern day production studio.  There’s perfect synergy between front-man and vocalist Jeff Tweedy and lead-guitarist Jay Bennett (who died suddenly this year), with each track an exciting mix of rock and blues style sounds over a backdrop of strange electronic clutter and feedback.  Not only that, the album also does a very good job of capturing the sense of loss and spiritual confusion that gripped the country shortly after 9/11 (indeed, the marina city towers look like they could be the ghosts of the WTC).  Every track is a stand out in its own way, but it truly is the opening track that leaves the most indelible and haunting images with the listener.

I am trying to break your hear...

24 down, one to go.  I'm going to try to post the #1 by tomorrow morning, but if I don't it will probably have to wait until sunday, since I'll be in NYC.  I just need a little extra time to reflect on the awesomeness of the #1 album.  In the meantime, feel free to comment, or even rip apart my selections...trust me I can take it!

The Greatest Albums of the 2000s: #s 10-6

10) “The College Dropout”-Kanye West (2004)

The second appearance Kanye West makes on the list.  This was Kanye’s debut, and it’s been widely hailed as a “game-changer” in the world of hip-hop, and an album responsible for bringing the genre to an even wider audience than could previously be imagined.  I, for one, can attest to this fact.  Prior to Kanye West, I was just an occasional listener of hip-hop, and I would rarely bother listening to an entire hip-hop album.  Not so after this album.  The skillful crossing of genres and masterful production by West made this the first album that could grab the attention of a more indie-rock inclined listener, like myself, and force them to listen with rapt attention to every single track over and over again.  With standouts like “We Don’t Care,” “School Spirit,” and “Slow Jamz,” this album was the confluence of the right songs and the perfect age at which to hear them, which was my freshman year of college.  And while other songs on this album have become the stuff of legend (i.e. “Jesus Walks” and “Through the Wire,” which West recorded while his jaw was still wired shut after a car crash), my personal favorite to this day is “Never Let Me Down,” a song that still manages to give me goose-bumps when J. Ivy dives into his gospel inspired verse.  Kanye’s emergence this decade shattered everyone’s preconceptions about how a hip-hop star should behave, talk, and dress, and opened the door for the success that artists like Drake and Kid Cudi are currently having.




9) “Oracular Spectacular”- MGMT (2008) 

MGMT was formed by two college friends at Wesleyan University, who just wanted to share with each other their eclectic musical interests.  Before long they started playing shows, got picked up by a record label and released “Oracular Spectacular” in early 2008.  By the end of that year, you simply couldn’t escape hearing such infectious songs like the Beegees-esque “Electric Feel,” the ode to rock-star lifestyles in “Time to Pretend” and “Kids,” which in my opinion might be the song of the decade.  The album itself eschews any sort of common theme or sound, and instead goes for a widely varying mish mash of different musical styles and genres.  Normally this would be a recipe for disaster, but MGMT makes this formula work on this the surprise hit of the latter part of the decade.  Just when you think that you have the band pegged in one type of genre, the next song kicks in and totally wipes away whichever assumptions you might have been working on.  Years and years from now when someone decides to make a documentary trying to capture the spirit of the later part of the 2000s, I have to believe that “Oracular Spectacular” will be sampled heavily.



8) “The Blueprint”- Jay-Z (2001) 

“Gather round hustlers, that’s if you still livin, and get on down to that ol’ jig rhythm.”  I think we can safely say that Jay-Z is the best mc alive, if not of all time.  During his illustrious career that’s spanned two decades, he’s released a slew of great albums, but “The Blueprint” may be his best.  Unlike his most recent “Blueprint 3” release, which seems to have a different guest vocalist on every track, the original blueprint was pretty much just Jay and the mic, spitting some of the best rhymes of his career (it’s also been claimed that he wrote all the lyrics in two days, which is unbelievable if true)  To say he did it all by himself, though, would be a little misleading, because he did get a huge assist from a young up and coming producer by the name of Kanye West (whose influence you can certainly discern on “H to the Izzo,” the album’s biggest hit).  Without a doubt, this album is firmly entrenched in rap’s canon of all-time great albums, and will stay there for years to come.  Standouts on this album include (besides “Izzo”) “Takeover,” “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love).”


 

Heart Of The City (Ain't No Lo...

7) “In Rainbows”- Radiohead (2007)

By now the story of this album has been well documented.  Late in 2007 the band announced that their 7th studio album was complete, and that it would be released in a matter of days.  However, rather than being sold in stores, (itunes or otherwise), the band would be distributing the album themselves, on their own website, without the help of a major record label.  More importantly, they would let the buyer decide what they wanted to pay for the album.  I personally chose to pay $10, out of respect to the band, but there was no doubt thousands that were downloaded for free.  This move was hailed as revolutionary by observers, and positioned the band as heroes in the eyes of music fans, who have long hated the major record labels for getting in between artists and their fans.

But what about the music?  Rest assured that beyond all lore surrounding this album, “In Rainbows” is an absolutely brilliant collection of songs.  Driven less by the need to innovate and test musical boundaries, this is by far the most relaxed Radiohead albums, and the most accessible and fan-friendly the band has made since the 1990s.  Pretty much just 5 amazingly talented musicians playing extremely well off each other, and creating 10 stunningly beautiful songs, including “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,” “House of Cards” and “Jigsaw Falling into Place.”

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - Radiohe...

6) “Is This It?”- The Strokes (2001)

I mentioned in my commentary on “White Blood Cells” that there were two albums from the early part of this decade that helped save modern rock music for me.  Well, this would be the other one.  Like “White Blood Cells” this debut album from The Strokes was characterized by some very obvious 1970s garage rock influences.  The difference, and this is no insult to The White Stripes, who purposefully chose to record their album with only two instruments, is that “Is This It?” just sounds richer and more melodic.  Throw in some great lyrics from front-man Julian Casablancas (“I say the right things, but act the wrong way, I like it right here, but I cannot stay…” love it.) and you have all the ingredients for an almost flawless classic.

Plus, everyone talks about what a game-changing album this was, but you’d really have to look back at the most played artists of 2001 to realize just how much so.  I mean, Staind?  Creed?  Limp Bizkit!?!?  Geeze, no wonder I was ready to give up on modern music at the time.  Luckily, The Strokes came along at just the right time, and helped to open my mind to a decade’s worth of outstanding music.  Standouts from the album include “Barely Legal,” “Last Nite,” and the above-referenced “Hard to Explain.”

Hard To Explain - The Strokes

The Greatest Albums of the 2000s: #s 15-11

15) “White Blood Cells” The White Stripes (2001)

Forty minutes of pure, unadulterated, garage rock bliss is how I would describe this record.  This album (along with another album I’ll be discussing later on in this countdown) was instrumental in convincing a high school age Pete, who was listening more and more to classic rock and had almost given up hope on modern music, that there was still a lot of promising music being made by contemporary artists.  It also helped that this album had just the right amount of classic rock sensibilities (one guitar, one drum, no nonsense rock) with singer/guitarist Jack White’s unique style sprinkled in all the right places.  In my opinion this album still stands tall over 2003’s “Elephant” because of  a higher concentration of memorable songs (“Fell in Love with a Girl,” “Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground,” and “We're Going to Be Friends” chief among them).  This album was one of the first to rekindle my interest in modern music, and without it who knows what I would’ve been listening to these days.

We're Going To Be Friends - Th...

14) “Give Up”- The Postal Service (2003)

Ben Gibbard and his primary band, Death Cab for Cutie, had an extremely impressive decade of music.  During that span the band released such high quality albums as “The Photo Album” (2001), “Transatlanticism” (2003), “Plans” (2005), and “Narrow Stairs” (2008), albums by which Gibbard and his mates built a reputation for being able to capture the awkwardness of searching for love, complete with all the joy and heartbreak that accompanies it.  However, it was with Gibbard’s side project, The Postal Service, that he found the most success in expressing that theme.  Born out of a series of exchanges between Gibbard and Dntel’s Jimmy Tamborello (Tamborello would produce the instrumental tracks, mail them to Gibbard, who would then write and record lyrics over them), “Give Up” is a perfect blend between Gibbard’s ability to write brilliantly poetic lyrical sequences and Tamborello’s catchy electronic beats.  Highlighted by songs such as “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight,” “Such Great Heights,” “We Will Become Silhouettes,” and “This is the Dream of Evan and Chan” this album was the perfect music to listen to while studying in college, and I believe that it’s music that will weather the test of time quite nicely.

The District Sleeps Alone Toni...

13) “Late Registration”- Kanye West (2005)

I’ll come out right and say it: I love Kanye West.  Along with Radiohead, he was the single most influential artist of the decade.  That’s why it really bothers me to see Mr. West retreat from the public eye faster than Tiger Woods.  Think about that one.  Both men came under intense media scrutiny this year, and both responded by taking an indefinite leave of absence from their respective careers in order to sort out their personal lives.  The difference: Woods was cheating on his wife with an endless string of cocktail floozies, while West merely upstaged a teenage country singer in front of a live television audience.  Huh?

I’m not saying what Kanye did to Taylor Swift was defensible, it was childish.  But come on, it was the MTV VMA’s.  Let’s just hope that Kanye is able to overcome whatever demons he’s battling, because hip-hop, and music in general is much better when he’s making records.  Like this one, for example.  With chart toppers like “Touch the Sky,” “Gold Digger,” and “Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” Kanye’s second album reinforced his title as a masterful song producer.  On top of that, Kanye showed that his lyrical skills were also maturing, as evidenced by songs like “Gone” and my personal favorite of the album “Drive Slow” in which West paints a vividly nostalgic tableau of his adolescent days cruising around his neighborhood with his best friend, whose advice of “don’t rush to get grown, drive slow homey,” is both casual and unforgettable all at once.


12) “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”-Spoon (2007)

This 2007 album by indie rock band Spoon is just over 35 minutes long, which means they waste very little space in crafting 10 superb tracks in such away that can only be described as effortless.  It’s an album that really requires little explanation, because it’s just so simple, straight-forward, and immediately likeable.  My favorites include “Don’t Make Me a Target,” “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb,” “The Underdog,” and “Black Like Me.”

The Underdog - Spoon

11) “Silent Alarm”-Bloc Party  (2005)

Love Bloc Party, and love this album.  I was absolutely floored when I first heard this album back during my junior year of college, and to this day I think it’s one of the best collection of dance-floor ready indie rock songs that any band has ever put forward.  Lead singer Kele Okereke’s distinctive voice rings out clearly among Russell Lissack’s frantic guitar licks on stirring dance numbers such as “Helicopter, ”“Banquet,” and “Positive Tension” but it’s the album’s slower and more tender tracks, namely the timeless “This Modern Love” that truly sets this album apart.  This British band has followed up their debut album with a couple of great albums, but they may never again capture lightning in a bottle like they did on “Silent Alarm.”

 

This Modern Love - Bloc Party

to be continued...

The Greatest Albums of the 2000s: #s 20-16

20)   “Tha Carter III”- Lil Wayne (2008)

Weezy F Baby…and don’t forget the baby!  Let me just say this, before “Tha Carter III” came out, I would listen to and enjoy Lil Wayne, but he was never really an artist I would take seriously…kind of like ludacris or other rappers of that ilk.  However, after this album, myself and the rest of the world had to take notice that this wasn’t just your run of the mill rapper, but a talented and creative songwriter and musician.  In my mind there are many rappers, who claim to represent one thing, such as being from the streets, the inner-city, or whatever.  Lil Wayne, simply transcends all of that.  He simply represents the anarchy and free-flowing nature of hip-hop in its most elemental form, not unlike Heath Ledger’s Joker in the “Dark Knight.”  He keeps you guessing at every turn, almost as if he’s asking the listener, “you want to know where I got these tattoos on my face?” only to come up with a different story every time.

A Milli - Lil Wayne

19) “Good News for People Who Like Bad News” - Modest Mouse (2004)

“Good News…” makes this list not only because it’s a terrific collection of catchy songs (who can forget “Float on”?)  but because this was the album by which the indie rock movement really became mainstream.  It used to be that you could easily define indie rock as any band that played alternative music, and released its music on independent labels.  You can’t really say that nowadays, because those bands have all gone mainstream, and it’s to the point that you can’t really define what indie rock is.  It’s become sort of a catch-all term, much like the term alternative rock in the 1990s, after the Seattle grunge rock scene took over mainstream music.  Perhaps it’s no coincidence that the indie rock take-over was led by another Seattle based band, Modest Mouse, who had played on an independent label for 10 years before breaking through with their 2004 mega-hit, this time on the Sony label.  The album was widely hailed as the best album of 2004, and it’s tough to argue with that statement.  The overriding theme of this album seems to be death, but it’s ok because lead singer Isaac Brock's quirky voice and the old-fashioned bass and guitar makes the topic seem less oppressive.

Bukowski - Modest Mouse

18)“Hail to the Thief”- Radiohead (2003) 

Alright, time to test your brains with an obscure analogy that you probably wouldn’t find on the SATs.  Here it is: Cris Carter is to touchdowns, as Radiohead is to __________.  Stumped?  The correct answer is perfect albums, because that’s all they do (and if you don’t remember Cris Carter, shame on you, that guy was a touchdown scoring machine with Warren Moon and Randall Cunningham throwing to him).

Anyways, I’ll spoil some of the intrigue and tell you that Radiohead made 4 amazing albums this decade.  I decided to put 3 of them in my top 25 (the fourth, which was 2001’s “Amnesiac” deserves mention, and would probably make my top 30 if I made such a list).  “Hail to the Thief” makes this list because primarily because it’s one of Radiohead’s most unique albums.  Throughout the album there’s this eerie sense of dread, as if something sinister is waiting around the corner.  You can hear it clearly in songs like “2+2=5”, “Go to Sleep”, and “Wolf at the Door.”  Whether Thom Yorke was trying to comment on political turmoil going on in the world (could the title of the album be a swipe at George Bush?), or commenting on more personal problems in his life, I don’t really care.  The point is, true to Radiohead form, the album captures this sense of dread with a vividness and expansiveness that’s unrivaled by any other musicians out there.  “Hail to the Thief” is an album that haunts you, and it keeps you coming back for more, and each time that you do, you find something new, just because the music is so densely layered (I’ll come back to that point when I discuss the next two Radiohead albums on my list later on).

Go To Sleep - Radiohead

17) “Cross” - Justice (2007) 

If you want to hear the pinnacle of electronic music from the past decade, I’ll point you in the direction of the French duo “Justice”, and not their fellow countrymen, Daft Punk.  This is saying a lot, because I love and respect Daft Punk, but in terms of albums, Justice’s debut, “Cross” blows away any album Daft Punk has ever put forward.   Sure, none of their songs have become immortalized by being sampled in a Kanye West song, but make no mistake, these guys put together an amazing collection of pulse-pounding dance beats.  With biblical sounding song titles like “Genesis” and “Waters of Nazareth” intermixed with songs like “D.A.N.C.E.” and “THHHEEE PPAARRTTYY”, the album is the sound of a strange and mesmerizing mix of the fury of a fire and brimstone sunday sermon and the exhilaration of the friday night dance-floor. 

Genesis - Justice

16) “Bright Like Neon Love”- Cut Copy (2004)

“Time stands still when I think of you…” is how this unforgettable album kicks off.  From that point on it’s an entrancing and atmospheric journey back through 1980s electro-pop, courtesy of this Australian band.  Even though the album was released back in 2004, I didn’t really discover the group until about a year ago.  Ever since then, this album has been in heavy rotation on my ipod.  The songs seem to be seamlessly intertwined, especially at the top of the album, with songs like “Time Stands Still,” “Future,” and “Saturdays” just melting into one another.  There’s not one weak link on this album (they also released another terrific album in 2008, titled “In Ghost Colours”), and I can’t help but think that these guys should be bigger than they are.

Future - Cut Copy

The Greatest Albums of the 2000s: #s 25-21

Greetings once again.  It's been a while since my last post, but only because I've been debating long and hard over what my favorite music of the past decade is.  It's hard to believe the decade is nearly at an end.  When it started I was just entering high school, and my favorite band at the time was probably 311.

...Suffice to say a lot has changed since that time, and I've been fortunate to hear a lot of different albums.  Looking back over the past 10 years I can confidently say that this has been a decade of music like no other, one defined by an impressive array of different bands and artists.  I would even go as far as saying that this has been the best decade of music ever.

So out of this great decade of music, which albums made my top 25?  There was a lot of back and forth, but I think I've finally come up with a pretty definitive list.  This list has nothing to do with what the public or music critics have deemed to be "essential" albums of the decade, but more with what I still listen to and enjoy today, and expect to enjoy long into the next decade.  So without further ado, I give you the first installation of my list, starting with numbers 25-21.


25) “Robbers and Cowards”- Cold War Kids (2006)

We’ll kick things off with a fine debut album from this California band.  Not sure how to describe this one, it's a, hmmmm, yeah…just listen to it yourself.  Trust me.

Hang Me Up To Dry - Cold War K...

24)  “Feed the Animals”- Girl Talk (2008)

Ok, I apologize for that commentary on Cold War Kids, or lack thereof.  That was pretty weak.  Time to step my game up, LES GO!

The first decade of this century may very well be the last decade in which people discuss the concept of “the album.”  What I mean is that today’s pop music is being defined more and more by a collection of downloadable singles, and even those singles are becoming broken up and played in one or two minute clips mixed in with other songs, i.e.“mash-ups.”  Girl Talk, aka Pittsburgh native Greg Gillis, is probably the single best symbol of this movement.  And sure, many out there will say, “oh, he’s not a real musician, he’s just mixing songs together on his macbook,” to which I would reply, “shut your face!”  Every time I listen to “Feed the Animals” I can’t help but be amazed by the sheer creativity Gillis uses in seamlessly combining such a wide array of songs which span pretty much every popular musical genre from the 1960s onwards.  Not only that, he is able to “mash-up songs” in such a way that the listener almost forgets how the original song was played.  Indeed, I’ll probably never be able to imagine Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares to You” without hearing T.I. shout “whatchu know about that??” amongst Sinead‘s beautiful voice.   Quite haunting really.  So, regardless of what you feel Girl Talk means for the future of music,  admit that the guy has an uncanny ear for music and is, without a doubt, a legitimate musician.

Play Your Part (Pt. 1) - Girl ...

23) “The Devil and God Are Raging Inside of Me”- Brand New (2006)

This band has certainly evolved a great deal over the past decade.  Starting with the more Taking Back Sunday -esque sound of 2001’s “Your Favorite Weapon” the band has evolved into a formidable alt-rock band.  While they’ve put out a lot of great material this decade, I think “The Devil and God…” has to be my favorite.  It just sounds heavier and more masculine than any of their previous work, and just by taking the instrumentals from songs like “Sowing Season” or “Welcome to Bangkok” you'll have some perfect background music for any shoot-em up, action packed movie trailer.  It will get you pumped up, that's for sure.  However, what puts this album squarely in my top 25 is front-man Jesse Lacey’s lyrical exploration.  Let’s just say that this guy knows a thing or two about loneliness, pain, and guilt.  Nowhere is this more apparent than in “Jesus Christ,” the centerpiece of this album, and perhaps one of the most beautiful songs of the past decade.

Jesus Christ - Brand New

22) “Hot Fuss”-The Killers (2004)

I don’t know if the disappointment of the last two Killers albums has dulled some of the luster from “Hot Fuss,” or made this debut album from The Killers seem more impressive.  All I know is that I was obsessed with this album for a while when it first came out (pretty much the soundtrack of freshman year of college, in fact). It’s an album is chock full of lively dance numbers (“Somebody Told Me“), and even the more gloomy themed songs about lost memories (“Smile Like You Mean It”) or murder(“Jenny was a Friend of Mine”) are surprisingly catchy.  Plus, when you hear all those ‘80s throwback bands that are currently saturating the indie music scene, bands like Passion Pit for example, please don’t forget that it was The Killers, and this album, that opened the door for that type of sound to become mainstream.

Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine - T...

21) “Aha Shake Heartbreak”- Kings of Leon (2005)

Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy seeing this band play songs like “Crawl” and “Be Somebody” live and in concert.  Those songs and the rest of last year’s “Only By the Night” were written with arenas and huge summer festivals in mind, and that’s where those songs sound the best.  But from the perspective of writing an original and compelling album, Kings of Leon’s best work was from the earlier part of their career, when they truly embodied the second coming of the southern, hillbilly rock of the 1970s.  Of those early albums, “Aha Shake Heartbreak” stands out.  Just an all out fun album from top to bottom, and it really does sound like the type of music the Followilll clan would play for fun after a night of boozing and chasing skirt, unlike their more contrived songs like “Use Somebody” and “Sex on Fire” which ironically propelled this band to super-stardom.  Hell, maybe I’m just upset about the boys seemingly “selling out” on me, but just take a listen to “The Bucket” and try to explain to me why songs like this didn’t make these guys superstars years ago.  (By the way check out the guys’ hair in the video, you can’t even recognize Caleb!)

The Bucket - Kings Of Leon

 
to be continued...

FX's "The League"... America's obsession with fantasy football hits the small screen

Hey folks, sorry for the long hiatus from posting, but I've been pretty busy lately. Busy watching tv that is! Ok, that's an exaggeration, but I have been catching a decent amount of some new tv recently. One show that has caught my attention is FX's new show, "The League", which debuted last thursday night after "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" Now, the FX network has long been searching for a comedy to follow the wildly popular "It's Always Sunny..." and so far it's been nothing but failure (anyone remember "testees"?...didn't think so). So given FX's track record, I went into "The League" with low expectations. Make no mistake though, "The League" is a pretty solid show that's also driven by a pretty entertaining ensemble cast.

The basic premise behind "The League" is a group of friends (all males, all in their early 30s) who compete against each other in an annual fantasy football league. As one of millions of americans who play fantasy football, I was instantly drawn to this story. However, in this show, the focus isn't so much on football itself, but on the lengths these men go to defeat and humiliate each other, and about how their obsession with fantasy football creeps into their personal lives. In order to pull this off, the show put together a very versatile and hilarious cast, which each friend bringing something interesting to the table.

Episode One of the show depicts "the draft", which is when everyone in a fantasy league gets together and takes turns picking out their team. Rather than going with a straight summary of the episode, i'll give you a quick look at the main characters, which should illustrate that this comedy is very much character driven:

Pete- If there is a central character of this show, Pete is probably the guy. Episode one establishes Pete as the alpha dog of the fantasy league, having won the championship 3 out of the 4 years of the league's existence. Pete really seems to relish his fantasy football superiority, and tries to rub it in his friends' faces any chance he can get. Unfortunately for Pete, his real life isn't as perfect as his fantasy team, his main problem being a wife that not only tries to dominate him in his personal life (picking out his clothes, dragging him to bogus charity events) but also dominate him in the bedroom (after one awkward bedroom session, she gets up out of bed, slaps him on the ass, and goes, "good show old boy!") The main question Pete grapples with in the first episode is how will he let his seemingly ill-fated relationship affect his participation in the league.

Kevin- Kevin is Pete's best friend, and league commissioner. As league commish, it's up to Kevin to come up with the draft order, and he does this with a competition. Not a competition between the guys, but a competition between his own daughter and her friends during her birthday party. Kevin gives each kid a number, like a race runner, and has the kids do a potato sack race in the backyard, with each of the guys drawing a random kid's number. After the guys draw a number they comment that Kevin didn't even draw his own child, to which Kevin replies, "That's good, because she's not that fast." Also, like Pete, Kevin is married, but unlike Pete, appears to be in a very supportive relationship. In fact, his wife, Jenni, appears to know more about football than he does, and the pair seem to approach the fantasy league as a team.

Jenni- "We didn't get our daughter did we?"
Kevin - "No, number 7"
Jenni- "COME ON #7!"

Ruksin- All the guys in the show seem to have pretty low scruples, but this is the guy with perhaps the lowest. At the aforementioned birthday party, Ruksin learns of a neighborhood boy who's a supposed "oracle" when it comes to fantasy football. Ruksin sees this young child as an opportunity to gain a competitive edge over his friends, and immediately starts to get friendly with the boy. Naturally, the relationship between the man and boy comes off as very creepy.

Boy's father (answering door): Hello?
Ruksin: Hey can Matthew come out and play?
Father: No, Matthew is getting ready for bed actually.
Ruksin: Yeah, you can just tell him that Ruksin's here.
Father: Absolutely not.
Ruksin: That's cool, I'll just hook up with him online.
Father: No you won't! (slams door)

Taco- He's the most aloof individual of the group, probably because he's high almost 24/7. He also doesn't appear to know anything about current NFL players. This is him during the draft.

Kevin: Taco, you're up, it's your pick.
Taco: Ummm...Geoffrey Reynolds.
Kevin: Who is Geoffrey Reynolds!?
Taco: Running back, Calgary Stampeders, he's really good.
Kevin: Taco, it's NFL players only, how do you not understand that?
Taco: Oh...(looking at draft cheat sheet) Darr-en Spro-lees.

Taco also writes and performs a birthday song for Kevin's daughter at her party, and believe me when i say, you have to see and hear the performance first hand.

Andre: Andre is the black sheep of the group, meaning that he's the butt of all their jokes. He tries very hard to come off as cool and smart in front of his friends, but all his attempts come off as lame and pathetic. I don't have to say much about Andre, just that he picks Keyshawn Johnson during the draft, and has a marijuana joint framed in his house, which was he explains was his first joint he ever smoked with his friends (a joint, the guys later explain to him, contained something other than marijuana. I don't want to spoil it though).

There's a lot more that goes on during the episode, but hopefully these character bits give you a taste of the show's humor (which is sophomoric, immature, yet delightfully amusing.)

Going forward it will be interesting to see how the show incorporates what's actually going on in real life football and how it affects the guys' league, which I think would be a pretty innovative for a television show. If that is the case, and the guy's fortunes are based on the current season, then our boy Pete is surely in for a rough ride. Here's his first two picks: Matt Forte and Calvin Johnson. Ouch! Also, I'd like to see an episode showing the origins of the league and how the group's rivalry began.

Overall, "The League" was a very enjoyable experience and showed a lot of promise. I'll give the show a solid "B" for it's first episode and encourage all of you to tune in.


Since, I haven't posted in a while, I might as well put in a few extra words, so here's a few other random musings on fall tv so far...

1) NBC's thursday night lineup is back on top as the best comedy lineup of the week. NBC has been given a run for it's money by CBS's monday lineup of "How I Met Your Mother" and "Big Bang Theory", but "The Office" has been resurgent this year and "30 Rock" has been as good as ever. But the difference maker for NBC has been "Community" which is an office like show starring Joel McHale (from E!'s "The Soup") as a ex-lawyer who has to enroll in community college. The show is absolutely hilarious, and features some great supporting performances from John Oliver ("The Daily Show") Ken Jeong ("Knocked Up", "Role Models") and Chevy Chase ("Fletch", "Fletch Lives").

2) After a sub-par fourth season (at least in my opinion) "It's Always Sunny..." is definitely back on form. My favorite episode so far has got to be the intervention episode, in which the gang debates the merits of drinking boxed wine out of diet coke cans.

3) I haven't seen it yet, because it's on Wednesday, and I only watch tv on mondays and thursdays, but I've heard nothing but good things about "Modern Family." If nothing else, I'll be watching that one marathon style once the first season comes out on DVD.

4) Jon Gruden joins the the booth for Monday Night Football, and right away you can notice Ron Jaworski rubbing off on him. Listening them talk during the game is like listening to a couple of cartoon characters, they're just extremely animated in the way they speak, and I must say it's downright distracting.

5) "House"...'nuff said.


-PG