Distressful Tidings

TOP 100 of the DECADE!!!!!

2009-09-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

Here they are. This still doesn't make much sense to me, either, but it was fun in the making. For the sake of my sanity, I discounted all live albums, compilation albums, and EPs. So that discounts Alive 2007, After Dark, and Heron King Blues, among others. I don't want to copy/paste everything, so I'm starting with #1. Sorry. And I only wrote what I felt needed explanation.
When I was making this list, I discovered that most of the albums here fit into one of a few categories of music, which roughly describe my evolution of taste of the decade. They are:
“Alternative Rock” - Bands like Beck, The White Stripes, Wilco, The Strokes: stuff that magazines like Spin would cover early in the decade. I was listening to this stuff in high school, and the best of these albums stuck with me to today.
“Indie Rock” - Bands like Wolf Parade, The Shins, The Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene: stuff that pitchfork and myself were into around the middle of the decade. I discovered most of this stuff as an undergrad, and while some of this stuff has aged well, the more cutsey stuff has not.
“Dance” -Bands like Hot Chip, Chromeo, Hercules and LCD Soundsystem. I listened to these starting in late college, when my attitude toward music became less emotional or whimsical and more pragmatic; I wanted music that was fun and made me want to dance. To a large extent this is still my attitude towards a lot of music I listen to, or at least the music I want to go see live. I am generally tired of going to see sad bastards or noise experiments.
“Minimal/Drone” - Bands like Sunn O))), Pantha du Prince, Espers: As a grad student, “good background music” has ceased to be a perjorative description. I find myself listening more and more to ambient compositions, minimal techno, and drone metal. This kind of music is great for reading/writing, or even just setting the mood for the rest of my life. I also like the inclusion of noise or avant-garde elements; I'm not just listening to smooth jazz here.

Top 50 Albums 2000-2009
1.Brian Wilson-SMiLE (2004)
I know that lots of people would discount this as an album of the 2000s, since it was supposed to be recorded/released in the late 60s. But I'm pretty sure I would not like the “real” Smile nearly as much as I LOVE this album. The old, broken Brian Wilson gives the descriptor “teenage symphony to God” a whole new meaning; his breaking voice gives the sad overtones that I read into lots of bubblegum-y Beach Boys songs. One of the two sublime experiences of my life involves this song; it was a dream that took the form of a rock film (a la The Wall) to this album. (At the time I was listening to it multiple times a day, every day). Needless to say, this album transcends “just good music” for me and comes to be as close as I have to evangelical religious beliefs. I can't say enough.
2.Daft Punk-Discovery (2001)
3.Junior Senior-Hey Hey My My Yo Yo (2005)
Yes, it has staying power. Every song on this album (besides the into, but I like that too) has been my favorite song. I have choreographed dances to these songs in my bedroom. One of my favorite capital-P Pop albums ever.
4.Beck – Sea Change (2002)
Ranks up there with Blood on the Tracks as one of the best break-up albums ever. I'm not sure why this didn't age well in the critical consciousness; it sounds so timeless and perfect to me.
5.Wilco-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2000)
6.The Strokes-Is This It (2001)
7.Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker (2000)
8.Broken Social Scene-You Forgot it In People (2002)
9.Radiohead – Kid A (2000)
10.Okkervil River-Black Sheep Boy (2005)
My relationship with this album is not rational, and probably not healthy.
11.Clipse-Hell Hath No Fury (2006)
At the end of 2006, I put this new release on my year-end list unsure whether it would drop or rise after more listens. The latter was definitely the case. For some reason rap albums usually don't age well with me, but this has had such staying power that I love it more now than ever.
12.Wolf Parade-Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005)
13.The Avalanches – Since I Left You (2000)
14.Jens Lekman-Nights Over Kortedala (2007)
15.Belle and Sebastian-The Life Pursuit (2006)
It's a little strange that the highest album by what may be my favorite band didn't crack the top 10, but I think that just speaks to B&S's history and consistency.
16.Hot Chip – The Warning (2006)
17.Spoon – Kill the Moonlight (2002)
So many Spoon albums, so few spots.
18.M83-Dead Citites, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts (2003)
19.JJ – No. 2 (2009)
This is my highest album for 2009. I know that this process is not fair to recent albums, which haven't had time to percolate and attain classic status. I just couldn't justify placing any album higher than this, although I believe that 2009 is one of the better music years of the decade (along with 2001 and 2005).
20.Elliott Smith-Figure 8 (2000)
21.Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)
Seems low? I just don't have the religious attitude toward these guys that lots of people do. That doesn't mean that I don't think this album is fantastic, though. Perhaps more offensive would be universally loved albums that are not anywhere on this list (Sufjan, CYHSY, Bjork).
22.Antony & the Johnsons – The Crying Light (2009)
23.Lindstrom and Prins Thomas – S/T
24.Air – The Virgin Suicides
I count this “soundtrack” because it is all original music by a single artist. And it is fantastic. Air's best output of the decade. Much better than a pretty good movie.
25.Animal Collective – Feels
Highest AC album. Does this make sense to anyone else? Why should I have to order these?
26.Spoon – Gimme Fiction
27.Yo La Tengo – And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
Is this my favorite Yo La Tengo album? Yes. But it doesn't even really sound like Yo La Tengo! I know, and it is a wonderful digression, perfect for driving around suburbs on summer nights.
28.LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver (2007)
29.Hercules and Love Affair – S/T (2008)
30.Pains of Being Pure at Heart – S/T (2009)
31.The Concretes – S/T (2003)
32.The Shins-Oh Inverted World (2001)
33.Fleet Foxes – S/T (2008)
34.Radiohead – In Rainbows (2007)
35.Ryan Adams-Gold (2001)
36.Johnny Cash - American IV: Man comes Around (2002)
Do I love this album more than I should?
37.Broken Social Scene – S/T (2005)
I think that this album is pretty criminally underrated. I even forgot about it for a while. I think this has to do with just how epic and timeless their previous album is, and how messy this one is. But it's a beautiful mess.
38.Jay Z – The Blueprint (2000)
39.Bob Dylan – Love and Theft (2001)
40.Modest Mouse – Moon and Antarctica (2000)
41.M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us (2005)
42.The Knife-Deep Cuts (2004)
43.White Stripes – White Blood Cells (2001)
I don't really listen to the White Stripes much anymore, but I can't help but smiling when “Dead Leaves and Dirty Ground” kicks off the album. It takes me back to high school.
44.Sonic Youth – Murray Street (2002)
45.Studio – Yearbook 1 (2007)
46.Cat Power- The Greatest (2006)
This album has dropped off quite a bit from when I listed it as my favorite album of '06. I'm not sure why; maybe I listened to it too much, or maybe my tastes have changed. Or maybe it was that awful use in My Blueberry Nights, or the other musical crimes that Chan Marshall has committed since then.
47.Outkast-Speakerboxx/Love Below (2003)
I'm white; it's my favorite Outkast album.
48.Animal Collective – Sung Tongs (2004)
49.Mum – Yesterday was Dramatic, Today is OK (2000)
50.Boris and Sunn O))) – Altar (2006)
This has really grown on me, to the point that it has become an essential winter reading/writing experience for me.
51.Burial – Untrue (2007)
52.Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus (2004)
53.Dandy Warhols – 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia (2000)
Nostalgia pick? I don't know. But this album is still intensely listenable to me.
54.Ratatat – Mixtape #1 (2004)
This is one of my most-listened-to albums of the decade. And yes, it's just a remix album, but the remixes are so consistent and also have a really unified sound. It sounds like an album, and the rappers give Ratatat an edge that I think they desperately need. My favorite Kanye West song becomes much better on this album.
55.Of Montreal – Aldhil's Arboretum (2002)
56.Chromeo-Fancy Footwork (2007)
I love this a lot more now than I did when I put it near the bottom of my year-end list at the time. Instant dance party.
57.Badly Drawn Boy – Hour of Bewilderbeast (2000)
58.Panda Bear-Person Pitch (2007)
Hasn't aged as well as I thought it would.
59.The Books – Thought for Food (2002)
How can I pick one Books album above the others? I take this as my representative.
60.Pantha du Prince-This Bliss (2007)
I didn't hear this album until the year after it came out, so it wasn't eligible for the year-end list. But I immediately fell in love with it when I heard it. This Bliss has what other minimal techno albums always seem to lack—that album feel. This also has a warm feel whereas other very-good albums by Ellen Allien and others feel really cold.
61.Dirty Projectors-Bitte Orca (2009)
62.Jens Lekman – Oh you're so Silent Jens (2005)
63.Belle and Sebastian – Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003)
64.Architecture in Helsinki – In Case We Die (2005)
Pretty huge fall for my co-album of 2005, the best music year of the decade. I think that my penchant for “indie” is pretty dead by now. That doesn't mean I don't still really enjoy this album, though; it's so intricate, catchy, and fun. They put on a surprisingly good live show, too, which sounds like what I hear Los Campesinos! do.
65.DFA79 – You're a Woman, I'm a Machine (2004)
66.Justice – Cross (2007)
I knew that blog-house was a fad even when I followed it religiously. But I think that fad-ness of the genre led me to disrespect Justice, who were by far the slickest and trendiest of all the blog-house icons. But after a few years and a lot of bad blog-house, I can finally recognize how great of an album this really is.
67.Califone – Roots and Crowns (2006)
68.M83 – Saturdays=Youth (2008)
69.Explosions in the Sky-Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die... (2001)
70.Coldplay – Parachutes (2001)
Seriously, this is a really good album. I don't care about all the negative musical trends that came out of it. I think it's funny that the biggest band of the decade could start out with an album so small and intimate in scope.
71.Jay Z - American Gangster (2007)
72.Tom Waits – Real Gone (2004)
73.Air - Talkie Walkie (2004)
74.The Rapture-Pieces of the People We Love (2006)
75.The Rapture – Echoes (2003)
I don't even know where to put these albums in relation to each other/the rest, but they definitely both make the list. When did the Rapture lose their hipster cred?
76.Lindstrom – Where You Go I Go Too (2008)
77.Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell (2003)
When this first came out, I was disappointed with the more mellow songs that dominated the second half of the album. That makes sense, considering how much I loved the EP. As the decade has progressed, though, I've realized that the album's genius is not in the snotty punk but those late ballads.
78.Espers – II (2006)
79.Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion (2009)
80.Junior Boys – So This is Goodbye (2006)
81.Devendra Banhart-Rejoicing in the Hands (2004)
Which Devendra Banhart albums make the list, and which don't? It's an unfair process, especially for Devendra, who kind of exists outside my critical consciousness.
82.Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights (2002)
Hasn't aged that well.
83.Stephen Malkmus – S/T (2001)
I really enjoy every Malkmus album when it comes out, but then I forget about them pretty quickly later. Except this one. Is it because it was the first, and I treated it more like a Pavement album?
84.Jason Forrest – Shamelessly Exciting (2005)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
85.Mogwai-Rock Action (2001)
86.Okkervil River-Stand Ins (2008)
87.Black Mountain – S/T (2005)
88.Spoon-Girls Can Tell (2001)
89.Herbert -Scale (2006)
90.Basement Jaxx – Rooty (2001)
91.Devendra Banhart – Cripple Crow (2005)
92.The Roots – Phrenology (2002)
93.New Pornographers – Electric Version (2003)
94.Grinderman – S/T (2007)
95.The xx – S/T (2009)
96.Bohren and der Club of Gore – Dolores (2008)
97.Asobi Seksu – Citrus (2006)
98.Ratatat-Ratatat (2004)
99.Sigur Ros – Takk... (2005)
100. Spank Rock – Yoyoyoyoyo (2006)

TOP 5 2008

2008-12-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

5.Cut Copy – In Ghost Colors
I love this album. I don't have anything to say about it.
4.Fleet Foxes – S/T

I was lucky (?) to see Fleet Foxes pretty early, after the blogosphere started to buzz with them, but before the album came out and they started taking over the indie-rock world. I saw them play in Berlin, in the same club I had seen an awesome Handsome Fures show with, like, 20 other people. Unfortunately (?) there were lots more people, but the after a disappointing Beach House show, something happened: the crowd became reeaaally quiet, and took on an atmosphere of friendliness I haven't ever experienced (except maybe with devendra banhart). I was in the front row, like maybe 4 feet from the band, and they handed out water bottles and interacted with the crowd on more than a banter level. Afterward I had a beer with a couple of the guys, and they were really nice, asking me to look them up when they came to Austin. I saw the show right at a point when I was getting sick of rock shows in general, and it reminded me that there is stuff in indie rock to get excited about. I know this was a hot band to like, but that just makes me happy for both Fleet Foxes and their fans.
3.Lindstrom – Where You Go I Go Too

This is the best workout album ever. The perfect beat, something long enough to get a rhythm going, with just enough movements to keep me interested. And my god, those 80s synths. I love them. And I did work out to this album, until grad school got the better of me, and it never got old. I also listened to it at home, walking to school, while writing papers, everything. I just wish that I drove more so I could listen to it there. I was worked up about this album quite a while before it came out, and lo and behold it's right up there with all my favorite Lindstrom stuff, INCLUDING stuff with Prins Thomas. That's saying something.
2.M83 – Saturdays=Youth

It's not really fair that this album is higher on my list than the previous M83 albums, which I like more. It's probably that I enjoy M83 more now than I even did when those albums came out, and this album gets the benefit. There was a time this spring that Saturdays=Youth was my favorite album of the year, but I haven't listened to it enough this fall to make a call on it, so I'll leave it here (it could be anywhere in the top 6-8). Anyway, yes it's more of a pop album than previous stuff, yes it's cinematic/nostalgic but in a good way, yes it is wonderful on headphones. I will return to this one for years to come.
1.Hercules & The Love Affair – S/T

Everyone knows that I love pop and I love dance: the most obvious intersection of these two is disco. Was there any question that this would be in my top 5? Not at all. I thought this would be my #1 since a couple weeks after it came back. And yes I heard this in lots of Berlin clubs, and yes it was amazing. I've heard lots of good remixes of songs from this album, but none touch the originals. “Blind” will probably be in my top songs of the decade.

15-6

2008-12-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

15.Jamie Lidell – Jim

Multiply took me by surprise, and I listened to it so much over the next year that the expectations for a follow-up would become exceedingly high. But Jim is everything I wanted in a second Lidell album. Maybe to its detriment: without the shock of such a soulful album with glossy production, Jim went under a lot of radars this year, and still more people forgot about it. And December certainly isn't the time of year to be listening to it. I haven't forgotten, though, and Jamie has stayed solid on my list all year.
14.Little Joy – S/T
I wish the Strokes were still around and sounded like this. Why did they have to try to do so much after Is This It? Couldn't they just make fun rock albums? Isn't that revolutionary enough? I can't wait to listen to this album in the summer, preferably on a beach.
13.Yo Majesty – Kryptonite Pussy EP

I doubt anyone else has this or liked it much, but I LOVE this EP. Back since 2006, when the “Club Action” remixes started to appear, I have secretly enjoyed the dirrrty lesbian club anthems of this Tampa Bay duo. But the Kryptonite Pussy EP takes it to another level of dirrtyness, of flow, of booty-shaking beats. It's a shame that the girls' debut album, also released this year, didn't stick to the club atmosphere of this EP and the early singles. I didn't listen to much new hip-hop this year; this is the only appearance on my year-end list. But damn, I know I will be listening to “Hey There Girl” and “Monkey” for years in the future.
12.Tallest Man on Earth – Shallow Grave

It's amazing that this man can sound so much like early Bob Dylan. I did a double take the first time I heard it. Even more amazing, though, is that the songs are much much more than simple reductions of early Dylan, which would probably earn a low place on this list anyway. Shallow Grave has some of the best lyrics of any album I've heard this year, and the guitar work is dry and brings me back for more.
Just when I thought I was past my Dylan phase...
11.DJ /Rupture – Uproot

I really liked /Rupture's last album, Special Gunpowder, but this one takes him to the status of auteur.
10.Air France (EP)
Air + Avalanches? I must admit, when I first started listening to Air France on the blogs, very early thanks to my friend Dan, I wasn't overwhelmed. As I listened more and more, though, it became a soundtrack to my life, coming into my head as I walked to school, or took the Ubahn, whatever. No, it's no Studio, but this EP keeps me wanting as much Balearic music as I can handle.
9.Apes and Androids – Blood Moon

Yes Apes and Androids are in my top 10. No I'm not ashamed of it. Yes they sound like music for adolescent boys with Pink Floyd posters, Steely Dan records, and uncomfortable Monty Python obsessions. And I embrace that. The music is so proggy and joyous that sometimes I don't know what to do. Just when The Apes were getting a little too serious, Apes and Androids step in and take the spot of ridiculously fun, manic music.
8.Antony & the Johnsons – Another World EP

I didn't listen to much sad music this year; overall 2008 has been one of the happiest years in recent memory. But this album still moved me to tears on occasion, even with no negative emotions to dwell on. Lord knows what this would have meant to me some other more angst-ridden year. Antony is becoming one of the more important songwriters of the decade, I feel.
7.Okkervil River – The Stand Ins
I was really disappointed with The Stage Names, but I rediscovered it this year and liked it significantly more. Still, though, I see The Stand Ins as a superior album. “Lost Coastlines” is one hell of an indie rock single, and “On Tour With Zykos” has some of the best lyrics of the year, which is typical for Okkervil River. I see this album as the band's most direct commentary on indie/intellectual culture in our generation. Needless to say they are critical. Songs like “Singer-Songwriter,” I feel, are important for people like us to hear and identify with. Even as I become more and more disenfranchised with indie rock staples (Wolf Parade, TVOTR, etc), I can still rely on Will Sheff et al to draw me to a rock show.
6.Brian Wilson – Lucky Old Sun

I don't expect to win everyone over to this album. I will just say that in the context of SMiLE, this is one of the most happy/sad albums of the year, as only Brian Wilson can be. How can you not be creeped out when Wilson sings about watching a girl when she's sleeping? And how can you be singularly happy when he sings about “that good kind of love”? Once again, I take a pseudo-mystical approach to Brian Wilson's music, and once again, I am rewarded for it.

2008: 25-16

2008-12-09T07:59:00.000-08:00

Sorry for being so late; I am currently overwhelmed by term papers. I'm actually being very irresponsible making this list at all, but hey, I need my year-end list don't I? I will hopefully go back and fill these out with more pictures/words later. OK, without further ado:
25.Alphabeat

Is this the token sugar pop album on my list? Maybe. I feel bad about putting this on here, since I start to get stomach aches when I actually listen to it all the way through. I can't ignore the fact that I often listen to “10,000 Nights,” “Boyfriend,” and “Touch Me Touching You” on repeat.
24.Be Your Own Pet – Get Awkward
I'm the only person I know who like Be Your Own Pet as much as I do. So I had no one to complain to when they broke up. The first album was like a slap in the face; this one was much more digestible, with elements of mall-punk and violence I can understand. BYOP is still more of a Siouxsie than a Donnas, though, and I have unashamed fun when I listen to this, their second and last album.
23.HEALTH – Disco
I don't really have anything to say about this album besides its fast, loud, and dancey. I could listen to 20 different versions of Triceratops, if they were as well remixed as these. If I were a professional athlete, this would be my favorite album to listen to before the big game.
22.Nico Muhly - Mothertongue

I really love this album, but I'm not sure I understand it. Who are the multiple voices supposed to be? What is the relationship to folk music? Is there a connection between the first and second halves of the album? I fell asleep once to this album; my dreams are terrifying. Yet I find myself returning to Muhly again and again, for a kind of music I've never experienced before. That kind of album doesn't come around very often.
21.Bohren & Der Club of Gore - Dolores
I wonder if I would have nearly as many drone/post-rock albums on my year-end lists if I made them in, say, June rather than December. There's something about winter that just begs me to listen to slow, grinding, dark music. And this album certainly qualifies; it's been on repeat the past few weeks. Then again, winter hasn't actually hit here in Austin; it's still T-shirt weather outside. Maybe music like this is more associated with term papers for me...
20.Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Lie Down in the Light
I'm not a huge B “P” B fan, but this album ranks up there among my favorites, with I See a Darkness and Ease Down the Road. His voice works better, I think, the folkier his songs get, and this as folky as they get. The duets are wonderful too, and there is just enough honk on the album to keep it from dragging into wrist-slitting territory. “Easy Does It” and “For Every Field There's a Mole” are among my favorite singer-songwriter songs in a year in which I don't listen to that kind of music.
19.Earth – The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull
See: Bohren and Der Club of Gore, but I listened to this album this spring. I can't believe the Earth concert was sold out when I tried to buy tickets in Berlin; I had to go to a disappointing Yeasayer concert instead. When I first heard “The Driver,” the guitar struck a chord in me that is still ringing, I think: it sounds like a darker, not-dated-sounding soundtrack to Twin Peaks. I will see them live, one of the days.
18.Clinic – Do It!

Back in high school I LOVED Internal Wrangler and Walking With Thee; then I got to college and was disappointed by their subsequent albums, which sounded like a rehashing of those, but less interesting. This album, though, has all the bite of the former and all the mood of the latter; I rank it right up there.
17.The Cure – 413 Dream
The Cure are in my favorite 3 bands ever. This is my favorite Cure album since Bloodflowers at least.
16.Mogwai – The Hawk is Howling

OK, so this is no Mr. Beast, but the new Mogwai sound is growing on me. “The Sun Smells Too Loud” is fun in a way that old Mogwai isn't, and “Batcat” rocks hard, even if I miss the long buildups. Have you seen the video for that, by the way? OMG. I fully acknowledge that I have this WAY too high on my list, and I'm not even going to try to prove its worth. At least there's no Ryan Adams on this list, though!

Top 10

2007-12-21T06:15:00.000-08:00

OK, sorry i missed last night, but here is my entire top 10, without pictures (I'm pressed for time here). Also, note: *Radiohead – In Rainbows
I'm not including Radiohead in my Top 10 list, because 1. I don't know where I'd put it (somewhere between 4-10?) and 2. I don't have anything remotely interesting to say about it/them, other than I've got tickets for the Berlin show in July!!

OK....
10. Grinderman – Grinderman
As aging hero of independent music, I think that Nick Cave is totally underrated. While other old rock badasses Tom Waits and Thurston Moore get superstar treatment with us rock kids (they should), Nick Cave often goes relatively overlooked. Why is that? I have no theories. What I do know, though, is that the Birthday boy himself is at least as reliable as those other two to turn out albums that show up on my year-end list. Abbatoir Blues from a couple years ago was fantastic, taking Mr. Cave down paths he had never been down before, namely nice-sounding music. With Grinderman, he's back to mean Mr. Devil, and I love him all the more for it. And the restraint on this album helps Nick to sound as nasty and powerful as he has since Let Love In. That's saying something.
9. VA – Kompakt Total 8
I'm not sure why this album from the always-reliable Kompakt label flew under the radar in a year that saw techno's coming-out party for the indie rock crowd. Maybe because the mix isn't as “pure” techno as the previous Totals? Certainly, Kompakt did branch out more into pop and house this year, for better (“Beautiful Life”) or worse (the Supermayer album). This album covers that gamut too, ranging from standards Superpitcher and Jorg Burger to Berlin hometown heavy-house fave Rex the Dog. The genius of this album, though, is that Kompakt makes all of these elements work together, making a mix that is both cool and fun, embodying the best of the Berlin party scene that is so omnipresent in my life right now. In 20 years, when I want to look back and remember what my time in Berlin was like, I will probably put this mix on, and be transported to so many parties.
8. Lil Wayne – Carter 3
One of the perks of the slow demise of the album as a concept is the rise of the mixtape. Who cares where music first appears anymore? No more primacy placed on the “original,” as if that every existed in the first place (the original song, not the primacy). So here we have Weezy, releasing a (good) studio album (Da Drought 3) consisting of mostly covers and remixes, and a fantastic mixtape sampling everything in sight. And man this mix is joyous! Wayne spits rhyme after rhyme at me so fast, he sounds out of breath, and soon so do I too. Weezy is the coyote of the rap world right now; he can sound as angry, sad, dangerous, or sexual as anyone out there, sometimes on the same album. Of course, he also has the maturity and patience of a child, which explains the stupid jokes, as well as his inability to finish one song before starting the next one. Of course, these “flaws” just add to Weezy's charm, and also help me feel childlike and giddy while listening to this mix.
7. Daft Punk – Alive 2007
The most important music group of our generation (I said it) further secures its legacy by combining the best aspects of rock and roll (the live show) and electronic music (the remix). They deftly address both their own music and their live environment and audience in groundbreaking ways. They totally redeem the disappointing Human After All. They rock out to “Music Sounds Better With You.” What more could you ask from everyone's favorite sexy-robot music duo? Answer: another album, another tour.
6. Studio – Yearbook 1
It's hard for me to explain just why I like this album as much as I do. I mean, it's Swedish, and beautifully produced, and a mix between electronic music and pop, and has subtly funky beats. And it varies between the tiny pop of “No Comply” to the grandiose dub of “Out There.” And I can listen to it on repeat for hours on end without getting bored or sick of it. Yeah, that's why I love this album.
5. Jay Z – American Gangster
I always wondered how long it would be before some ambitious rapper would take the 1970s brassy soul that has littered some of the most critically successful rap songs of the past few years and decide to use it as an entire sonic palette. Never in my wildest dreams did I hope that the one and only Hova would be the one to step up to the plate. In my mind it is this big-band/soul sound itself that is the “concept” in this pseudo-autobigraphical concept album.
4. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
As much as I loves James Murphy's early singles, I wasn't blown away by the first LCD album; it seemed too thrown together, lacking cohesion or other album-qualities. Boy, he fixed that problem for his sophomore release. Sound of Silver flows from beginning to end, maintaining a consistent sound that never gets old. Of course this album also contains some of the most socially relevant songs for our zeitgeist, from everyone's favorite “All My Friends” (mine too) to the subtle “Get Innocuous.” And “North American Scum” can lead me to do embarrassing things on a European dancefloor.
3. Burial – Untrue
I recently read Derrida's Spectres of Marx, and I'm not sure how much “sonic hauntology” actually applies to this album. I understand that Untrue shows lots of “traces;” I'm just not sure how much different it is from, say, a Lil Wayne album with billions of samples, or the Go! Team. I fear that people just get excited because no one knows who Burial is and the album sounds spooky. Still, though, this is an album worthy of serious attempts at interpretation; it achieves feelings of loneliness and creepiness that I want to think more about, and the mood is one that makes me think of important questions of identity. I never could get into Burial's first album very much, but Untrue has blown me away; I've listened to this album more than any other in the past two months.
2. Panda Bear – Person Pitch
These days there are three different artists that a group can sound like to earn my love, no matter how poorly executed: the Jesus and Mary Chain, Al Green, and Brian Wilson. I think you can all guess which one applies to Panda Bear. Seriously, I see this album as the anti-SMiLE; while SMiLE was a “kid's” album that had the ache of an old man, Person Pitch is a man's album with the wonder of a little kid. Plus Mr. Bear sounds an awful lot like Brian. This album and my number 1 have actually been bouncing back and forth from the top spot for the latter half of the year, so it's really a toss-up in terms of winner. and everyone has already talked about Panda Bear's samples, etc. so thankfully I don't have to.
1. Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala
Do you remember when it took a few listens to warm up to Jens Lekman albums? I would tell a friend about I Want to Be Your Dog: “It sounds like boring mopey lo-fi music, but he actually writes profoundly affecting songs; just give it a try.” With Night Falls Over Kortedala, all you need is one listen and you're hooked. The arrangements are grandiose, the samples are over-the-top fun, and it has killer beats—seriously. And yeah, the lyrics are really simple and straightforward, but that Lekman's schtick; he has an album persona straight from a Capra film, one which is to me the most moving of modern rock persona's, only matched by the overwhelming personalities of Weezy or Ghost. And even though he's being really genuine and all that, Lekman tells great stories, and can make me as emotionally involved in his dilemmas as he apparently is. I think that Lekman's development as a producer and arranger (he could always write songs) has been one of the best pop/rock stories of the past few years, and Lekman has become quite possibly my favorite singer/songwriter of this generation.

2007 Top 30: 15-11

2007-12-19T09:22:00.000-08:00

15. The Tough Alliance – New Chance
Kyle made the most rabid campaign for this album that he's made in a while, at least since Burial/Skream (last year), or maybe since Deadly Snakes (a while ago now). Anyway, anytime Kyle goes this apeshit over a band, it always turns out to be a nice surprise, which is good, since I have little choice but to absorb the album. Anyway, what I'm not used to is recommending albums that are pure pop bliss—that's usually my side of the spectrum. And yeah, I had heard “First Class Riot” before, and liked it, but I shudder at the thought of not having this album this year. It's the perfect combination of Swedish pop (it is Swedish pop) and late-80s/early-90s inspired production, a la Stone Roses or Primal Scream. And on a side note, it really sounds to me like that yelp in “Miami” was sampled from Donkey Kong Country, from when Diddy Kong gets hurt and runs off stage. Does anyone else hold this suspicion?

14. Justice – Cross
OK, there was no way that Justice were going to live up to the hype they had built up for themselves. And yes, the group is totally influenced by/successful because of image and hype. But I love it, and, unlike their hype equals the Klaxons, they made a really impressive try at delivering that mind-boggling album this summer. They could have just shit out some more brutally loud sunth-based bangers and placed them around “Waters of Nazereth,” and I would have listened to the album, enjoyed it, and set it aside for the next SCHOLARTRON. But instead they made a real album, with rises, falls, and (maybe) depth. It's not just bangers. And I know that Justice knew that EVERYONE wanted just bangers, so big ups to them for that self control. And like Dan, I think that this album is comparable to my boi Boys Noize. I actually think that Cross works better as an album, though, while Boys Noize delivers the single jams. So, if you're keeping track, that's Remixes: Justice (close); Singles: Boys Noize; Album: Justice.

13. VA – After Dark
Including this album is totally cheating, since it's a way of praising so many of the singles that I already had gotten from “the blogs” (discobelle, risky bizness, fluokids, palmsout, etc) in the months before this compilation. But you have to admit that Italians Do It Better do a really good job of using their artists to create a really singular sound that really helps define the year's fads in dance music: 80's sounding fake-disco-soul. I made such a mix for Chuck for Mixster (Easter Mix Exchange), consisting only of 2007 songs that could be used in a re-filming of Miami Vice, washed out early-80s kitsch. In April there were already too many such songs to make the mix; I know that at least 2 songs from After Dark were in the running (“Running Down the Hill” and “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life”). I love this shit, and this album is like the readymade disco-complement to Miami Vice: Charleston. Only possible improvement: Kavinsky on the list.

12 The Field – From Here We Go Sublime
It took me a lot longer to get into this album than everyone else. This sounds like my dad, but at first the album sounded a little too similar to a record skipping for my tastes. Eventually, though, I totally fell for the album; “Paw in My Face” and a reliance on headphones this fall helped. Still, though, in a year when I listened to quite a bit more electronic music than rock, the Field remains an outsider. Nothing else that I listen to sounds like it. I know that lots of people say this is a good background album; i disagree. This isn't Michael Mayer or Villalobos, nor is it drone-y in the least. From Here We Go Sublime requires attention to be appreciated. When it comes on, it now has my undivided attention.

11.Caribou – Andorra
Caribou/Manitoba's weirdest album yet? You bet; no longer spectacular electronic pop experiments, this album goes all out at trying to find that lost 60's sound by combining electronic music with psych electric guitars. Snaith's best record? I think so. Andorra shows a real sense of nostalgia and historicity, shows a feeling of longing for something that none of us really know except in old movies and Nuggets: 1960s garage psychedelia. In their live show this month, the group projected fluorescent images of flowers blooming, etc, onto the stage while everyone went apeshit on the drums. This is Andorra in a nutshell to me: 60s kitsch projected onto proggy electronic music. The emotions that I feel about the album, I think, stem from the contrast of the two. The album at once sounds so powerful and so delicate.

2007 Top 30: 20-16

2007-12-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

20. Ratatat – Mixtape 2
Back in 2004, the first Ratatat mixtape was one of my most listened-to albums of the year, but I didn't include it on my year-end list because I didn't think of it as a legitimate release, a simple album of remixes. In this year of mixes, mixtapes, and compilations, I no longer believe that a mixtape is excluded from “real” releases. In my eyes Ratatat's remixes far outweigh their original tracks; they have a way of restructuring the rhythms of mainstream rap songs to make them sound new if they're old, fresh if they're dull. And if the song in question is Biggie, well, anything can happen. As I see it, the boys in Ratatat can give Siegel, Bun B, etc the guitar-powered fuel they need, and, perhaps more importantly, rap gives Ratatat the edge they need to keep from sounding like video game music.

19. Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger
Seriously, this is a very good Ryan Adams album. I know I have no credibility when it comes to Mr. Adams, and by this time I should be past my Ry-ry phase, but he keeps bringing me back. “Two” is a great pop single, and “Yeah, Whatever, etc” is really well thought-out, unlike its title. And I don't see how critics can keep pissing themselves over the self-knowing irony in Jay-Z's “Ignorant Shit” and not at least smile during “Halloween Head.”

18. Animal Collective – Strawberry Jam
It took me quite a while to get into this AC album. Like Dan Deacon (not on this list), the Collective's new sonic palette started out too thumpingly abrasive for me to listen to for more than a few songs at a time. Which was a shame, since, like all AC albums, this one is best heard as such, with all the melofies rising and falling over the record's course. It took a live show for me to really warm up to the album, and now I can say I am emotionally and aesthetically ready for the rewarding experience of Strawberry Jam. Still, I can't help but wish that Animal Collective would have stayed a little more mellow and make it easier for me to enjoy the record more often.

17. & 16. Handsome Furs – Plague Park
Sunset Rubdown – Random Spirit Lover
I thought it would be cute to put these albums together, but I actually do think that the two Wolf Parade solo records complement each other well. On the one hand, Spencer Krug's album (that's Sunset Rubdown) is so willfully obscure and full of bizarre imagery, but still manages to sound totally tragic (probably because of Krug's voice). On the other hand, Dan Boeckner's album is straightforward, nostalgic, and absolutely heartbreaking. Boeckner's lyrics verge on melodrama, Krug's on willfull obscurity. But they are both hugely affecting for me, and they go well together, kind of like this band I used to listen to... Musically, I find the simple synth/drums of Handsome Furs more easily digestible if less ambitious than the clanging symphonies of Random Spirit Lover. If I had to pick a favorite of the two, I might just pick Handsome Furs, maybe to be ornery, maybe because I saw a fantastic show by Boeckner et al here in Berlin, with all of maybe 20 people in attendance. But nevertheless both albums stand well on their own and together, and make me drool at the thought of a new Wolf Parade album (next year!).

2007 Top 30: 30-21

2007-12-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

30. Earth – Hibernaculum

Full disclosure: I only got this album last week. Something about December always draws me to groaning melancholy minimal rock, with few or no vocals. This almost always happens to be some form of post-rock, or, recently, drone metal. This year, though, I hadn't found anything, and so had to resort to last year's Altar and old Godspeed records to go to sleep at night or during the day (it's always dark here anyway). Then I got Hibernaculum from Jordan, and fell in love: brooding and haunting melodies, but with rock-sounding guitars. These few songs really are small little symphonies of drone, and they have totally scratched that December itch. I will be listening to this in winters to come. #30 because it's so brand new to me.

29. King Khan and the Shrines- What Is?!

One of the taste questions of the year: King Khan or Black Lips? I'm actually the only person I know who prefers King Khan. Sure, the Shrines aren't nearly as cool as the Lips, and King Khan sometimes crosses the border into kitsch. But isn't that part of the fun of a garage rock band? I mean, no one takes this seriously; it's only rock and roll (but I like it). I saw King Khan my first week here in Berlin; He came through the audience with a robe, cane, and steer skull over his head. Needless to say, they rocked the house, soul-style. The show kind of felt like Jack Black's band's concert at the end of High Fidelity: silly but convincing fun. That's how this album feels for me as well.

28.Muscles – Guns Babes Lemonade

So I love dance music, and I love pop music; if you know me that should be pretty clear. One thing those genres don't really have much of, though, is lyrics. So when someone does make an album of catchy dance music, and actually says something too, it means more to me. And Muscles, like personal favs Hot Chip before them, have their wits about them in the lyrics category. With emphasis on the “wit”: Muscles manages not only to rock the party, but also describe what hipster party culture is like in the 21^st century. From talk about sweaty club-hugs and entry lines (now a problem in Berlin) to lines like “We're dancing to ringtones in the street / Nobody's going home for dinner tonight,” Muscles can really capture the feeling of being young and drunk and dancey. These self-knowing lyrics might get old after a while, but right now it's the perfect combination of fun and clever for my tastes.

27. Ghostface Killa – Big Doe Rehab
Ghostface is the best musical storyteller of our generation. I said it; the dude is outspoken and charismatic, and whether he is talking about getting spanked by his Mama or running from the narcs, I want to hear more. Big Doe Rehab is no exception, and while it's too recent for me to place among the ranks of Ghostface records, it definitely hangs with the rest of them for me. In a year that brought a hugely disappointing Wu Tang record (am I the only one?), Starks just kept on doing his thang.

26. Place to Bury Strangers – Place to Bury Strangers

It's funny, how a silly review by p4k changes my attitude about writing this blurb. Normally, an album like this would get a mediocre review, I would single it out because of key words “distortion” and “Jesus and Mary Chain,” discover that the album is TOTALLY derivative of early JMC/My Bloody Valentine, and fall in love with it, telling everyone I know to listen to it. Instead, someone wrote a glowing review of the album, there are tour updates and news blurbs all the time, etc. That's great, but I don't know if this album is life-altering or masterfully crafted or anything: it just has really great distortion and hummable, quiet vocals. In other words, everything I love in a rock song no matter what.
25. Chromeo – Fancy Footwork

This album=instant dance party. Actually, there are so many albums like that in this breakout year for crossover synth-dance. I mean, this has been my thing for a few years now in year-end album lists (Hot Chip, Junior Senior, Muscles, etc); the goofier/wittier the better. So what does Chromeo have that's new? Those synths, maybe: damn. And unlike most of these other bands, there is (almost) new hint of self-conscious irony—Chromeo just make synth pop like they always wanted to make synth pop, not like they're an indie band being cute (I love the Chip, but...)
24. Battles – Mirrored
When I first heard this album, I thought it was going to be solid top-10 year-end material: it blew away the impressive Eps, I thought, it was interesting, different, catchy, technically brilliant. Now 8 months later, though, I discover that Mirrored hasn't aged as well as I thought. I don't listen to it as often anymore. But when I do, I still love those drums, those DRUMS, and all the funny electronic noises they make too. Maybe like the prog rock it emulates, Battles will soon sound dated, but my guess is they will sound dated and fun.
23. Spoon – Gagagagaga
Right before I left for Berlin in August, I bought the new records of two of my favorite rock bands—Spoon and Okkervil River—to listen to on the plane ride over. Both were well-loved by both critics and friends; needless to say I was excited. At first I was heartbreakingly disappointed with both albums. I began to listen to Spoon more and more, though, and before I knew it I had really fallen for the record (I remain heartbreakingly disappointed with Okkervil River). “Black Like Me” is one of the best songs of the year, and “The Underdog” sounds timeless to me now. Again Spoon's strength is in their production. Unlike other Spoon records, this one was a grower for me, and even at this coveted spot on my year end list it only makes it to the halfway point of Spoon albums on a good day. But that's Spoon for you.

22. Yelle – Pop Up
Of course I have no clue what she is saying, and I don't care. This album is pure retro-euro-synth-dance-fun. And French. And cool. When I hear this album I just want to wear a neon sweatsuit and breakdance.

21. M.I.A. - Kala

Everyone loves M.I.A. I love M.I.A. This is a great album. M.I.A. has great samples. etc.

19-11

2007-05-07T22:07:00.000-07:00

19. Cocteau Twins-Heaven or Las Vegas (1990)
If shoegaze is the cool kid of all subgenres, then dream pop is his hot-as-hell girlfriend. And this album is it for dream pop (the next few would all be lush albums). One of the sexiest sounding albums ever, if I ever shoot a sex scene for a movie it will be to "Cherry Colored Funk"
18. Portishead-Dummy (1994)
Speaking of movie soundtracks: every spy movie should have a portishead song. Massive attack may have the other 3 of the top 4 trip-hop albums, but this one takes the cake. Seriously, do you not feel so much cooler when listening to this album?
17. Mogwai-Young Team (1997)
MOGGGGGWAAAAAIIIIIIIII FEEEEAAAARRRR SAAAATTTTTAAAANNNNN
16. Slint-Spiderland (1991)
Wow, it seems like all of these albums are the best of their respective subgenres. That's probably because the 1990s are the deacde of subgenres. And post-rock is a badass subgenre, now that I think of it, although it lacks any sort of unity that trip-hop or shoegaze have. I mean, Mogwai is post-rock too, and they sound nothing like this. Well, ok, maybe nothing else does. Sublime.
15. Belle and Sebastian-If You're Feeling Sinister (1996)
I spent a long time kicking myself for not including the great 1992 Beat Happening album . How could I include my B&S without including the Happening? The fact is, though, B&S do twee better than Calvin Johnson did, and while he has a very different kind of charm, I listen to this album a heck of a lot more. The melodies are transcendent, the lyrics are just melodramatic enough, and Stuart Murdoch is one charming motherfucking man.
14. A Tribe Calle Quest-Low End Theory (1991)
QTip has the best combination of flow/lyrics of any MC out there. And his taste in jazz is impeccable. I know it's pussy rap, but the Tribe stand by themselves.
13. Elliott Smith-Either/Or (1997)
I hardly ever listen to singer/songwriter music these days. As much as I dug this shit senior year of high school, nowadays all the voices seem to run together, even if I know damn well who sings what. Not so with Elliott, who has the most beautiful voice of any rock singer (besides mayyybe Tim Buckley). And those lyrics, man, they put Elliott in a league of his own. With Nick Drake. This is one of my favorite sad albums ever (with Sea Change, Blood on the Tracks, Pink Moon).
12. Wu Tang Clan-Enter the Wu (1993)
Wu Tang Clan ain't nothin to fuck with. (This is as high as the rap albums get, which shows my silly white rockist bias. If I had another 10 albums on my list though, Pharcyde II, Ironman, and maybe The Chronic would make my list)
11. Weezer-Blue (1994)
Token nostalgia add: maybe. But is that why I keep listening to it to this day?

Top 90s Albums 20-30

2007-05-01T18:29:00.000-07:00

Ok I'm a sucker for all lists, so I couldn't help myself, I had to respond to Nick's challenge. But 25 for the full decade that I know best? Please; I would kill myself over picking 100. So this entire enterprise is compromised from the beginning; selecting these albums is such an impossible task that I haven't pulled hairs as much as I would for, say, my top 25 for a single year. So basically I will list 30 albums that I looooove from the 90s, in a general order. But there are LOTS that I have forgotten and ignored that deserve this honor equally. So for today I will simply list 26-30, and give a BRIEF description of 21-25.

30. Sebadoh-Bakesale (1994)
I Know, not the seminally-listed III, but Bakesale is my favorite Sebadoh album. Meanwhile Dinosaur Jr released the amazing Green Mind and How Ya Been, but Lou Barlow is in my top 3 lyricists of the 1990s (with Malkmus and Tweedy). They make the top 30 fo sho.
29. Sonic Youth-Washing Machine (1994)
My favorite 1990s Yoof album, with one of my top 5 SONGS EVER looming on the last side of the LP (which I own). If you don't know it, get "The Diamond Sea" immediately. The longversion, released on the new B sides collection, is preferable.
28. Inspectah Deck-Uncontrolled Substance (1999)
My favorite WuTang solo outing. Jesus Deck has mad flow on this one, and Masta Killa sounds better than he does anywhere else. Rap is pretty criminally underrated on this list, but I had to put this one on.
27. Smashing Pumpkins-Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
Billy Corgan is just enough of a dick to release this sprawling masterpiece, so ambitious and so successful. You all know it.
26. The Chemical Brothers-Dig Your Own Hole (1997)
The best breakbeat album ever (not that great of an accomplishment) beautifully combines e-based rave culture and LSD-based psychedelic culture (that great of an accomplishment). Seriously, listen to "Private Psychedellc Reel" and tell me the Bros. sound dated.
25. Silver Jews-American Water (1998)
"Blue Arrangements" is one of my favorite songs of the 90s, and it's barely my favorite song on the album.
24. Wilco-Summerteeth (1999)
Do I have to say something about Wilco, really? My fav album of theirs, though. I'm a sucker for alt-country, and also when alt-country folks go off and do better things.
23. Blur-Modern Life is Rubbish (1993)
My favorite Blur album has two of my favorite love songs ever: "Blue Jeans" and "Miss America." I loved Brit-pop through highschool, and now, going back through my oasis and supergrass records, I can't believe I did. My only solace is Blur, the band that stands the test of time and proves that even super-dated subgenre fads can produce transcendent talent.
22. Ryan Adams-Heartbreaker
Ry-Ry is so fake and melodramatic, and I LOVE it. I do not apologize for loving it either; I am sorry to people who got too caught up in this album and hate everything else he has done. His talent, after all, is faking everything so well, with such talent, that we all buy it. And we shouldn't feel hurt by that, but instead enjoy it; this is one of the best sad albums ever, whether Ryan was actually sad or not.
21. Ride-Nowhere
Best guitars on an album in the 1990s (My Bloody Valentine doesn't count). Third-best shoegaze album (best subgenre ever). And: "Albatross"
20. The Lemonheads-It's a Shame about Ray
It's a shame about the Lemonheads after this album. Talk about a breakdown. But if I were to release an album that ruined my career/life, I would want it to be akin to the sublime alterno-daze pop of this album.

Top 5

2006-12-17T16:43:00.000-08:00

5. Yo La Tengo-I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass

OK, so at this point just about everyone has had something to say about this album, and everyone has said something different. In fact, everything on this top 5 is somewhere else on someone’s list, but that’s beside the point. My experience with Yo La Tengo, at least is long but intermittent, following my entire experience with indie rock music in general. Back when I first got into bands like Pavement and early REM, during freshman year of high school, I totally got into Yo La’s I can hear the heart beating as one; a few months later, typical for high-school me, I pretty much started ignoring the album as well as the band and the genre of college rock in general, moving on to third-wave emo or something. A year and a half later, while I was digging Elliott Smith and Nick Drake, I absolutely adored And then nothing turned itself inside out, only to discard it in favor of neo-psych like the flaming lips and sparklehorse. When I go back through the band’s catalogue, then, I feel really nostalgic and sentimental; the sound reminds me, at the same time, of multiple and influential parts of my life that the band led me through. The new album, I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass, is the perfect album for this different-at-once sound, sampling all the best moments of the band’s career, including the old albums that I haven’t yet fully appreciated. It has long distortion-y epics like “Pass me the Hatchet” and “The Story of Yo La Tengo,” it has rocky pop gems like “Beanbag Chair,” it has lilting pop gems like “I Feel Like Going Home” and “Black Flowers.” Everything I want, and still unified-sounding, a complete album and vision (I disagree with you here, Austin). I wrote a review for The Depauw that said that this was one of the best albums Yo La Tengo has released; I stand by that. In a year that left me feeling absolutely disenfranchised with contemporary rock, a few veteran groups (Sonic Youth, Sparklehorse, Jarvis Cocker) reminded me that indie rock can still speak to me and be relevant, if not in its most current form (fuck you Decemberists!). Yo La Tengo did the best job of that for me.

4. Belle and Sebastian-The Life Pursuit

Marathonpacks says that this is undeniably the best Belle and Sebastian album. I don’t agree, but I can see why someone (maybe lots of people) could say so; this album marks the end of Belle and Sebastian’s evolution from the relatively limited sonics of melancholy twee-pop to the anything goes complex aesthetic of complex pop epics. While the emotional content of If You’re Feeling Sinister still strikes me as more genuine and affecting, The Life Pursuit is unquestionably a more complex, mature, and superior album musically. Just listen to “Another Sunny Day,” “Sukie in the Graveyard,” or “Funny Little Frog;” these songs sound just as beautifully catchy and melodically rich as the 70s psych pop that seems to be the model. Like the groups from the 70s, too, B&S combine elements of T Rex, the Zombies, and, yes, the Beatles and melds them all together to make an album, and sometimes songs, that show elements of all the influences while not sounding redundant. Really, mixing elements of those three bands is enough to keep me busy for a lifetime. And Belle and Sebastian do it soooo well. I am unapologetic for how much I like this album; like quite a few albums on my list (Mogwai, Rapture, my #1 album), this album has been called a sell-out venture by die-hard fans; well, it is more accessible and poppy than older albums, but Stuart Murdoch’s songwriting genius is more mature and sophisticated than it has ever been. Plus, as I believe now more than I ever have, what is so bad about releasing a poppy album?

3. Herbert-Scale

As Jordan mentioned, Herbert has been around for so long and put out so much, but it took last year’s Roisin Murphy album for me to even learn about him. That’s a shame; I like the old albums of his I have listened to since then. I discovered him just in time, though; I don’t know what I would have done without Scales this year. Last year, I thought that Jamie Lidell had perfected the subtle art of white-boy soul meets glitchy electronica; I had no idea. The songs on Scale are perfect soulful dance gems; the melodies are catchy, the lyrics are interesting, the production is perfect. There have been several analyses of the political implications of Herbert’s songs on Scale; what I love most about this is how much work and thought a political interpretation requires, how subtle it is. I don’t want to go into that now, but look it up if you’re interested; here’s a starting point. What really keeps me coming back, though, is how catchy this album is without being overbearing. I have a feeling I will be grooving to this album for years to come.

2. Hot Chip-The Warning

I think this is the only album on everyone’s list; am I right? I win, though, since I have it highest. Actually, from what I have read, I get the feeling that if all of you had had more time with this (and if Jordan would stop liking his brooding shit), it might be in everyone’s top 5 for the year. I have had the luck of getting this album right when it came out, back in Berlin; as you know from last year’s list, I was already in love with the group. I didn’t really take them seriously, though; it was hard to with all of the white-boy goofiness of Coming on Strong. I had no idea, therefore, of just how mature The Warning was going to be. Not that it isn’t goofy and fun; it certainly is that. As opposed to the last album, though, the new one has all kinds of songs, slow ones with sad ones, serious ones with goofy ones sometimes with elements of both in the same song (see the title track). Like the old effort, though, the band’s lyrics are clever and poignant. I never thought that an album could be at once dancey and profound; this album certainly does that.

1. Cat Power-The Greatest

How could I resist this album’s title? Seriously, though, I have considered this album my favorite of the year since April or so, and nothing has been able to topple it since then. For a couple weeks I though the Rapture might, but it didn’t have the lasting power that this album does. I don’t really have that much to say about it; everyone already knows it, everyone already likes it. Maybe I should start with why I love it, then. As you can see if you look through the archives, back in January or whenever, I reviewed this and gave it a measly 8.1. The haunting melodies, though, don’t just give up after a few weeks of listens; they bring you back, make you think about the songs in different ways. The best part of the album, though, is how Chan Marshall ends all the songs. Why does “Living proof” end there, couldn’t it keep going? I want to hear more of “Could We”! This album is a clinic in how to keep your melodies but cutting them off; too many indie artists like to play song structures out until they die. Of course, the fact that I’m talking about catchy melodies and not introspective lyrics is certainly offensive to lots of Cat Power fans; that’s why they love Moon Pix while I love this album. Not that The Greatest is shallow or empty; on the contrary, I think the lyrics are just as poignant as any other Cat Power album, which is saying a lot. The moods of the songs are more varied than those in other Cat Power albums, though, which is another reason I love this album. It takes you through highs and lows; this is probably what Jordan meant when he talked about the lack of sad songs on The Greatest. For me, though, The Greatest can be the saddest of all her whole catalogue, because of this very diversity; the highs of “Could We” and “Islands” make the drops of “Hate” and “Empty Shell” all the more dramatic. Anyway, I haven’t said anything about the warm Memphis sound, but you know all about that already. It’s my favorite album; there, I said it.

10-6

2006-12-15T19:22:00.000-08:00

Yeah, Yeah, I'm a day late. As jordan mentioned, though, I didn't sleep last night, busy applying to grad school and writing a Milton paper. Today I took a Sununu final on no sleep; it was interesting. I have gotten extensions for two other research papers, so I assume I can have an extension on this. I should be able to post my top 5 later tonight, though.

10. Sonic Youth-Rather Ripped

I don’t know how well you, the reader, know me, but I am a pretty rabid Yoof fan. This might seem contrary to my heavy emphasis on pop melodies and production, and I think it is; I’m not sure what made me start to love the masters of distortion, but I do, and they are a definite contender for the coveted all-time top 5 list. Anyway, on some level, I think that everything avant-garde and noise-y that I like stems from its similarities to Sonic Youth. Which is why this album, the band’s best work in years (like since 1000 leaves at least, maybe even [gasp] Washing Machine), is so ironic; this song is not avant-garde or distorted at all. It is a great rock record, full of melodies, singing, normal guitar solos—rock stuff. Not to say that there is no distortion on this record, but it is used as an addition to the song structure, as opposed to vice versa. Like Jordan (or someone) said, the guitars are really restrained. And Christ, songs like “Jams Run Free” and “Incinerate” are so catchy, anthemic, and beautiful. I’m pretty sure that the last two Youth releases have also made my Top 10 lists, and, as said before, this one outshines them; let’s just hope everyone’s favorite aging hipsters can keep this streak going.

9. Spank Rock-Yoyoyoyoyo

I have never heard an album have so many remixes so quickly. Seriously, I have a folder on my desktop called “Spank Rock remixes” that has over 30 songs in it. A lot of this popularity, of course, comes from the fact that Spank Rock posted the a capella versions of all of his songs online and free for download; the remixers went at it. More than that, though, the dj/dance community recognizes in Spank Rock that they/I see in tragically few MCs; a distinct and funky rhythm that is dominated by beats, a flow that plays against instead of with a given drum loop or sample. Spank Rock is aware of this, and uses genius but simple little beats behind his tracks on his own versions of his songs, just like his great remixes of other artists (CSS etc). In a year dominated by groove tracks for me, Spank Rock was reigning MC, showing up everywhere I looked. At SCHOLARTRON 1.6USTER, the latest Scholartron party, Miguel (DJ Rockwell) alternated sets with the scholartron; our main point of overlap came in the form of Spank Rock, who made multiple appearances with both man and machine. The dancers loved it of course, grooving all night to at least 3 different versions of “bump.”

8. Peter Bjorn and John-Writer’s Block

So I had the luck of hearing the new Peter, Bjorn and John album early. And I mean early; my friend brought back a ’45 from the record label he worked at back before the album was released in Europe, which was way before it was released in the US. It was “Young Folks,” and we had just seen the Concretes that week; we ate the single up. Pitchfork didn’t like it so much, though, giving it a 3 or something on their singles review. I got to see the group in Berlin a few weeks later, on a mis-scheduled tour; they didn’t have any releases in Germany at the time, and had to play to a crowd of almost no one in a restaurant that charged 1 euro cover. It was great for me, who got to see an engaging if short live performance sitting right in front of what most probably thought was a local band; the show was really enjoyable. The album was also stellar, and quickly became my late spring sound of choice; I loved the catchy pop melodies and elegant production; songs like “Paris 2004” and “Amsterdam” haunted me for days on end. Pitchfork did not like the album very much, though, giving it a 6.something, I think (this is going somewhere, I promise). Ok, flash forward to this fall, with the trio taking the blagosphere by storm; everyone loved “Young Folks,” everyone loved “Amsterdam,” etc. Which they should. How does pitchfork respond? They add “Young Folks” to their infinite mixtape, and re-review Writer’s Block, this time giving it recommended or best new music or something. Those fucking two-faced revisionists! I was outraged, I am outraged, and no one knows/cares. Of course, I shouldn’t care about that website any more, but they didn’t do justice to one of the best albums of the year, and then they try to act like they did once it becomes popular.

7. The Rapture-Pieces of the People we Love

I like Pieces of the People We Love more than Echoes.

6. Clipse-Hell Hath No Fury

For me this is a cop-out position for the new Clipse album; 3 months from now, this album will either have risen to my top 5 or dropped out of my top 10, I’m sure. It’s just too unrelenting not too; the verses are demanding, the beats are violent, the production is in-your-face. Pusha T and Malice are much less lovable than they were on the first Clipse album. And this is why I love Hell Hath No Fury; it is unforgiving and dark while progressive and forward-thinking. Back in the day, I used to be all about “intelligent” rap music, you know the kind, Roots/Tribe/Talib, rapping about more abstract (no pun intended) subjects like politics and philosophy, groups that didn’t promote violence or drugs, instead opting for more “positive” lyrics. These days I think: fuck that. Intelligent rap music, intentionally or not, is the cultural appropriation of hip-hop culture by white people, who don’t want to deal with the unseemly aspects of the class struggle that permeate hip-hop culture. Well, as far as I can tell, it’s there, and it seems much more real to spit verses about slinging crack than to observing the problems from the outside like tamer hip-hop acts do. It’s the difference between talking about the culture and showing the culture by being a part of it. And of course I hate the term “intelligent rap;” it’s not only culturally classist, but also just wrong; Pusha T and Malice make some of the most clever and fresh wordplay that I have heard in rap music since, well, maybe forever.

15-11

2006-12-13T15:33:00.000-08:00

11. Califone-Roots and Crowns

I really ought to be angry at Califone. It isn’t fair. They could shit out an album (which they have, with their improvisational noisescape-y Deceleration series) and I would love it. They have the perfect formula for a Michael Roberts late-summer album: heavily affected acoustic guitar, lilting alt-country melodies, heavy distortion that somehow sounds organic and acoustic, and Tim Rutti‘s enchanting, muttered vocals. Quicksand/Cradlesnakes was a monster of an album, and the Heron King Blues EP still finds its way into my car CD player all the time (it’s there now, in fact). But Roots and Crowns is by no means the group taking a break; in fact, it sounds like Califone’s most concentrated, dedicated effort yet. The songs are much more tight, and the album flow sounds more like a thought-out progression than in previous (possibly more organic) releases. This album hops Americana-genres like previous releases, but to a greater extent: just listen to the bongos of the country funk in “Pink and Sour” or the chugging guitars in “A Chinese Actor.” Today I was in Bloomington for lunch after picking up the new issues of a MWR, and found myself in TD’s record store; I saw a vinyl copy of Roots and Crowns and had to buy it. Califone is one of those bands you want on vinyl for summer nights drinking whiskey, and this is maybe their best album yet. Listen to “The Orchids”

12. Espers-II

I won’t say too much about Espers, because Jordan is much more knowledgeable and passionate than I am, and he will talk about this later. Anyway, I didn’t get into this album, nay this band, until this fall. I immediately fell in love with the whole catalog, though, particularly this album. Just listen to “Widow’s Weed” at night and try not to feel a rush of emotion that you can’t identify. This album is filled with haunting-spine tingling psychedelic anthems that are much darker than the melancholy of Sparklehorse. That’s all I have to say; listen for yourselves.

13. Sparklehorse-Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain

I was in love with Sparklehorse late in high school, but I didn’t really understand just what I was in love with. I didn’t pick up on the subtle psychedelia , or at least I didn’t put the group in the same basket as the Flaming Lips or Mercury Rev. Now I can see that they are, and after such a long break (6 years!), they return as full, sad, and beautifully psychedelic as ever. I already wrote a review for the paper trying to get everyone to buy it, so I don’t feel like trying again; I am just worried that because of the band’s “older” status that they won’t get enough attention as they should. Just listen to opener “Don’t Take My Sunshine Away.” It sounds like I wish The Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize” should have; the bittersweet love/death is much more subtle, moving, and profound in this one. This album was just what I needed, a soothing and melancholy assortment of psychedelic gems to take me through the fall.

14. Mogwai-Mr. Beast

So Mogwai is one of my favorite contemporary bands. I love them; they put the energy of rock and roll into one of my favorite sub-genres, post-rock. And when I heard that this album was going to come out, and that it was getting good reviews, I almost wet myself. The I heard that all of the songs were pretty short, not expansive like on previous outings. That got me worried; that was part of what I loved about Mogwai. After hearing the album, though, my fears were assuaged; the songs are not epic, but they are beautiful and compact, forming the most accessible Mogwai album yet, while not giving up artistic vision. Some hardcore fans might call this a bit of a sell-out record, but I am a hardcore fan, and I do not. I saw Mogwai in Berlin in April, and it was the best concert I have ever seen in my life. If anyone knows me, they know how hyper-sensitive I am about my use of the superlative; the concert was amazing. By far the loudest show I have ever seen, the group had a strobe light show behind them, and the beautiful noise combined with the lights induced some kind of transcendent euphoria/trance/mania that I would pay lots of money to experience again. And through all of the ruckus that probably aged my ears years, I could still hear the delicate xylophone melody that drove a song, showing the true colors of the group: monstrosity + beauty = Mogwai. Listen to Folk Death 95

15. Mylo-Destroy Rock and Roll

So last year had that epic disappointment of an album, Daft Punk’s all-too-aptly-titled Human After All; fortunately, Vitalic released a more contemporary, more aggressive version of French House to replace it. This year, British genius-remixer Mylo has gone in the opposite direction for my album-long House fix. These songs are distilled melody and catchiness, taking the most accessible moments of Homework and running with them. In fact, parts of Destroy Rock and Roll sound so much like late-1990s accessible techno (think Fatboy Slim’s Better Living through Chemistry too), that I had to develop a theory for it. Everyone knows the party line of Homework; it shows a modern techno nostalgia for late 70s synth garage and dance music (early early techno, not disco, mind you). Well, I think that Destroy Rock and Roll does the same, but one step removed; Mylo shows nostalgia for Daft Punk’s nostalgia. How else could songs like “Drop the Pressure” sound, nay feel so much like contemporary versions of “Da Funk”? In general, though, what a fun album. It might be too catchy to stick with people to the year-end lists, and it certainly isn’t as progressive as Vitalic’s album last year, but as you can tell, I’m a sucker for pop and fun.

20-16

2006-12-12T16:50:00.000-08:00

20. I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness-Fear is on our side

Yes, this Austin group has a clumsy moniker, but it actually describes their sound pretty well: their first full-length is full of swelling guitars, new wave distortion and haunting lyrics. I didn’t like the EP as much, which seems to be contrary to most opinions in the rock world. This album sounds less contemporary to me, and more classic, or timeless. Well, maybe not timeless; maybe more Crocodiles-era Echo and the Bunnymen, or Disintegration-era Cure. I am such a sucker for that kind of music, and ILYBICD does it so so well on this album. I saw them in a tiny record store with shitty acoustics this semester; they did what they had to do in such a situation, which is blast the shit out of their speakers. Overall it was a good show, with “The Ghost” and “According to Plan” giving me front-row chills; no wonder, since both songs are among my favorite rock singles of the year.

19. Phoenix-It’s Never Been Like That

Man, I can just feel my hipster cred plummet with this album in this spot. Parisian garage-pop band (emphasis on the pop) releases their 3^rd and by far best album this summer. And what a summer album; these songs are catchy, cute, and fun. On this release the popsters try to make their songs more aggressive, adding all kinds of Strokes-y guitars and pounding drums. Phoenix is all about slick, glossy production, though, and the band can’t help but refine every would be crasher to a sugary pulp, perfect for daytime consumption. Just listen to the details of these songs: the hi-low guitar volume that goes by almost unnoticeable, the impeccable bass. Sure, these songs aren’t serious or anything, but intense listening does offer rewards. Plus, the album features one of the best creepy-crush lyrics I have heard in ages: “I’m going to read every novel you read.” The album, like the feeling of these lyrics, may not be the most mature or sophisticated, but it is a welcome retreat to the silly and pop that I love here; after all, isn’t that how Rock and Roll started?

Check Out "Long Distance Call"

18. Justice EP/Van She EP/Klaxons EP

If there is any genre of music from 2006 that I feel comfortable recommending, it is this new genre of electro house or indie disco/paisley dayglo. The only problem, though, is that almost no one from this emerging scene released an album this year. Ed Banger’s DJ Mehdi did, and there have been a few Kitsune Maison collections like Jordan mentioned, but the majority of the buzz for indie disco has come in the form of leaks, singles, and EPs. So…. I just put three of the best electro-house and indie disco EPs together and gave them one spot. Sue me. Justice released what will almost certainly be my favorite song of the year, “Waters of Nazareth” (check Jordan’s blog for the mp3 link). Every other song and remix on this EP, though, is solid gold: heavy heavy heavy French house music, requiring fist-pumping and dancing. The Van She is a little different, although their DJ sets sound so much like a cross between Justice and Daft Punk. On their EP, though, they sound more like 80s synth-disco; “Kelly” is an amazing track that has been remixed by everyone, including house power-team Alan Braxe and Fred Falke. And finally, the most rock-like band here, come the Klaxons. Oh my god have they been hyped in the blogs. I have never seen a band without an album be so remixed this year (well, maybe New Young Pony club). They have releases at least three singles that exploded everywhere, highlighting their rave-y garage-y sound, and I hope for more whenever they release a real album. Check out creepy single “Magick.” For more music like this, see my year-end singles list, or the links to the side, or just email me; I have so many of these singles—you have no idea.

17. The Knife-Silent Shout

I assume that everyone else is going to write about this album, and I don’t really have anything new to say. Yes, I didn’t get into Deep Cuts until this year, when I heard the drop-dead single “Heartbeats” at a club, and fell in love. Yes, the new album is creepier, darker, but still has the sublime melodies buried within it. Yes, there is a multitude of amazing remixes of songs from this album, including a cute one from Ratatat. Yes, I regret not seeing the Knife live in Berlin, on what was their 3^rd live appearance ever. Yes, this album is not as high as might be expected; I just wasn’t in a Silent Shout mood for enough of this year for the album to be Top 10 material. Deep Cuts would be, though, had it come out this year.

16. Girl Talk-Night Ripper

When I was first introduced to Girl Talk this summer, I had the same sentiments that Austin does; it was super-fun to pick out all the samples and enjoy the clever mashings, but at the end of the day Night Ripper was just a fun exercise, like all of those lesser mash-ups we hear on blogs. After months and months of repeat listens, though, I argue for Girl Talk’s album as not only a real music album, but a really good album in its own right. This might have something to do with all the postmodern theory and adaptation theory I have been reading for my thesis this semester; Gillis uses the postmodern idea of pastiche to juxtapose lots of different sounds from the past and undermine them, creating new ideas. Now Night Ripper is by no means directly political or anything, but I think that putting “My Humps” over Annie says something about what music is acceptable or unacceptable for some people to listen to, and why people like the music they hear. Did you not like “My Humps”? Or Julez Santana? Are they improved with samples from Neutral Milk Hotel, or just placed in a new context, so you can appreciate them now? “Tiny Dancer” and “Juicy” are both on opposite borders of indie-kid acceptability; what happens when you put them together? Everything is catchy; the album is pure, unrestrained joy in music. I think that’s the point of Night Ripper, a point that makes this Girl Talk album a much more successful music album than most attempts by groups recording their own sounds. Oh, and I am going to see Girl Talk on New Year’s. Rawk!

Best of 2006, 25-21

2006-12-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

OK, so here I am again with my Year-End List of 2006. Overall 2006 didn't have as many albums that I lovedlovedloved like 2005, but it actually had more very good albums that would compete for the 25-10 spots. So take that for what you will. In fact, I will just list the next 5 that I cut from my list here, in no particular order. What would be 26-30:
TV on the Radio-Return to Cookie Mountain
Destroyer-Destroyer's Rubies
Lupe Fiasco-Food and Liquor
Wizardzz-Hidden City of Taurmond
Ratatat-Classics
Some of these might be surprising in how low they are, considering some of them are popular top 5 choices for the year, but that's how it goes. All of these were very good as well. Anyway, for the REAL list, I will be posting 5 a day, every day this week. Starting with the bottom, of course. Then, sometime next week or the week after, I will be posting my top singles, which will be much more difficult. Because of my newfound love of electro-house and indie rave, this year has very much been the year of the single for me. I also posted some links to some songs from some albums, in mp3 form, from zshare; enjoy. Anyway, on to the albums:

25. Beirut-Gulag Orkestar

I first heard this album back whenever it first came out, but it didn’t really stick with me. Sure, the eastern European rhythms were enchanting, and Zach Condon has a beautiful voice that sounds more than a little like my boy Jens Lekman, but somehow a 19 year old American making these songs didn’t make sense to me. Maybe I was just jealous that someone younger than me could be so immediately successful in the indie music scene. Anyway, as the fall semester wore on, I found myself listening to Gulag Orkestar more and more; the melodies were haunting, and the eastern European tinge made each song sound different from everything else I was listening to (mostly dance music). It might also have something to do with the fact that a standout rack on the album, “Prenzlauer Berg,” is named after the neighborhood I lived in while in Berlin earlier this year. In fact, while visiting a friend from Berlin in Minneapolis, I went to see a Beirut show, and was happily surprised. It was a great show, and combined with my company and my drunkenness, I almost felt like I was back in Europe for a little while. Check out: Postcards from Italy

24. Jack and Jeffrey Lewis-City and Eastern Songs

This is one of the few albums on my list that I expect will not be on almost any other year-end list. In fact, it wouldn’t be on mine if I hadn’t decided one day to open this album at the radio station. It just looked like some low-end folk album, but it was on Rough Trade, so I gave it a whirl; man am I glad I did. It was full of touching anti-folk ditties (note: not freak folk) that contain sweet melodies and some of the most honest, open, and heartbreaking lyrics I have heard this year. This isn’t poetic Elliott Smith schtick by any means; Jeffrey Lewis sounds more like a nice but depressed aging hipster, sad-drunk and telling you about all the concerns he is having in his relationship, his career, his life. Everyone needs to check out “Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror” for an entertaining and sad story song about Jeffrey Lewis’s career and a possible Bonnie Prince Billy sighting.

23. Junior Boys-So This is Goodbye

A couple years ago I was really in love with Junior Boys’ first album, Last Exit, so it would make sense that I was excited for this one. What doesn’t make sense is just how different this album sounds, and how I like it just the same. Gone are the crazy glitchy rhythms and complex song structures; this album is all about simple, straightforward electro-soul songs. This is probably because drummer, one of the Junior Boys himself, is now no longer a Junior Boy. I'm all about these neo-electro soul ballads, though. I might have been a little hesitant, but the first leaked song and possible single-of –the year-contender “In the Morning” let me know right away what a great album this was going to be.

22. Ghostface-Fishscale

Ghostface is my favorite member of the Wu Tang Clan. These days he seems to be everyone’s. For me his angry and high voice combines perfectly with his violent, angular flow to making some of the best verses in all of rap music. Now that he is working with Doom and the pitchfork staff loses it every time he is featured on a song, indie kids everywhere have made the switch from GZA or Meth or whoever to Ghostface. I like that, and I like that so many people made such a big deal about this album. It deserves it. Fishscale was one of the few albums that I actively sought from Berlin; in most cases I had given up listening to every new album until I returned to the states, but I demanded that someone download and burn me a copy of this one (I didn’t have access to the internet at home). I was glad I did, and enjoyed Tony Starks’s anger and wisdom throughout the spring semester. As I will mention later in this list, I was pretty consistently disappointed with hip-hop (and most anticipated music in general) in 2006; I am glad that Ghostface didn’t let me down.

21. Liars-Drum’s not Dead

This album is one of those that I feel requires an essay to fully review/describe, and I don’t have the time or energy for that; I still have 50 or so pages to write this week. So instead, I will describe my response to this album in anecdote form. The day I got to Berlin in early March, I immediately began looking for concerts in the area. Much to my joy, I found out that Liars and Wilderness were playing that weekend, some 3 days away. I quickly found out where the venue was, only a few blocks from my house, and on Friday night, still knowing no one in the city, I walked over by myself. Liars recorded this mind-fuck of an album in Berlin, so they had quite a few friends/fans there, and everyone was totally into the music (as I would discover later, this is very unusual for Berlin concert-goers). Wilderness were inspired, but Liars were captivating and, well, scary. The club was dark and sweaty, looking kind of like that underground club in that late Smashing Pumpkins video (I forget which one). Anyway, I was sober (the last time I made this Berlin concert mistake) and just in awe of the music, the venue, the city. In short, this album, this band, as intelligent and as deep as they may be, they are the perfect atmospheric group, providing the perfect soundtrack to anything dark, heavy, and cool. I listened to this album over and over, just letting it kind of drone in my head while walking around, reading, whatever. I suggest you do the same.

Favorite Song for Musical Chairs

2006-05-17T06:50:00.000-07:00

Daft Punk, "Oh Yeah." Think about it.

10/05/06: Architecture in Helsinki at Maria am Ufer, Berlin

2006-05-10T06:08:00.000-07:00

After being surprised at most of the concerts I had seen since my last post (blown away by Mogwai, trampled by the Black Mountain Army, disappointed by Erlend Oye's Whitest Boy alive, etc, etc...), I thought that I was entering into familiar territory when going to see Architecture in Helsinki. After all, I saw the band less than a year ago in a similar sized venue (Southgate House in Cinnci), and the band hasn't released anything new since then. Last time they were fun and charming, rotating instruments and playing squeaky toys at the appropriate times, miraculously performing their complex songs with only 8 members. I expected another simlarly enjoyable if tame experience.

I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Not at all the cute indie pop group of summer 2005, the new AiH was the cute, wild, fun, and crazy indie pop group of 2006. Opener "Nevereverdid" turned into more of a schizophrenic medley, with new distortion solos. The band rocked on It'5! like I would have never thought they could. They did a Kraftwerk cover that had the germans dancing (remember, germans don't dance). I could go on, but overall, every song was transformed into something a little edgier, a lot more experimental, and much more interesting for the AiH concert-going fan. Think Belle and Sebastian meets Sonic Youth. Well, at least Deerhoof.

This new development showed itself even more in the new AiH songs the band played. The songs were more electronic and dancy, but also experimental, and showed what the band has really gained with gorwing popularity and extensive touring: confidence. Before, it was enough for the band to pull off the extensive orchestrations of their pop-tunes, which was certainly no easy feat; now, the band is comfortable and confident on stage, and can have more fun. Cameron Bird led the group through improvised sections with his distortion/guitar solos; before the band had no clear live stage leader. The band was also more lively on stage, chatting with the audience and joking each other´. At the beginning of the show, the band commented on the heat of the small river-side club, and the male members of the band promptly took off their pants, having running shorts underneath. At the end of the show, the group also invited a couple of friends onstage to play the encore (Maybe You Can Owe me and Do the Whirlwind) with them. Then, seeing the crowd get excited, they invited the fans to rush the stage too, to play the heaps of percussion. Of course I did. Then, seemingly not wanting the show to end, the band played a new song, asking two finnish fans on stage to sing the finnish national anthem over it. After that, one more: everyon was invited to sing and play along with AiH on the Australian national anthem. Although the show can't match up to the Mogwai show in terms of religious experience, it was one of the most fun concerts I have been to, largely because the band was having so much fun.

04/02/06 at Magnet Club, Berlin: Deerhoof

2006-04-03T03:40:00.000-07:00

My friend Reed and I went to Club Magnet early for this Sunday-night show, having been too late to the Futureheads a couple weeks ago to get tickets. On non-concert nights, Magnet also acts as a dance club, playing a mix of really fun club-worthy indie rock songs (Banquet Disco Edit) and totally undanceable, uncool rock songs (Coldplay's Trouble). Anyway, the smaller dancefloor was the one used for the Deerhoof show, and was cozy and intimate. The beer was also relatively cheap, which was nice, since it was 45 minutes before the opener took the stage.

When we first got there, the club was virtually deserted. I thought that the concert would pretty much stay that way, as it had the sunday before at the (amazing) Bell Orchestre concert. Mayber Berliners just don't like to go to concerts on Sunday nights. Well, I was wrong; by the time the opening act began, the place had filled with active listeners. The opener was one guy, and I am sorry I forget his name, but this guy pretty much just did free jazz improv on vibes while keeping a steady heavy metal beat on the drumset. That was all, for like 30 minutes. I consider myself a relatively open-minded semi avant-garde rock fan, but this shit pushed my limits. The always eager Berlin fans ate it up though; I couldn't believe it. This guy would almost certainly get booed at a midwestern rock show, even a deerhoof show. Just another difference at the rock shows over here.

After the set and a couple more Beck's, Deerhoof came on. I had seen them from a distance at Intonation festival last year, but I still wasn't prepared for the depth and tightness of their sound. They opened their set with 4 or 5 songs in a row from The Runners Four, and it blew me away. Their sound-hopping moves are even more convincing live than they are on the record. Greg was absolutely fabulous on drums, and Johna nd Satomi tore it apart on guitar. Satomi, of course, acted like an adorable 5 year old hopping aroung the stage and make hand gestures to go with the music. This behavior made it more bizzare/memorable late in the set, when she climbed on top of some amps and wailed down a crashing distortion solo. Overall, the band was tight and fun, even to a nonenthusiastic Deerhoof fan like myself. The crowd's entusiasm helped too, bringing out the best in longer, older songs like "The Last Trumpeter Swan." After a cutesy encore of "Bunny Bunny Bunny," the crowd called the band out for yet another encore, even though it was Sunday and the House lights were on. After a few minutes, the applause worked, and the band came out again. Maybe these germans are on to something.

3/10/06 at Wite Trash Fast Food, Berlin: Liars with Wilderness

2006-03-13T05:52:00.000-08:00

After having extreme difficulty finding out how to buy tickets (it's difficult all over Europe, it seems), I finally made it to a little bar called White Trash Fast Food, which is all of 3 blocks from my apartment in Prenzlauerberg, East Berlin. When I entered the slimy basement (think Creepy Crawl in St Louis), I joined a group of obvious American ex-pats and incredibly attractive East-German hipsters. Wilderness soon began, and sounded, like before, wonderful, dark, brooding, and prohphetic. The effect in an actual club was not as intense as that at a house party in Indy, but the Germans, obviously unfamiliar to the music, warmed to it. I also very much enjoyed the songs from the new album, which I bought from the band after the set. I told them that I saw them (actually, met them) in Bloomington and Indy last year. "Small fucking world" was the only appropriate reply. I hope they feel a little creeped out when my friend sees them in Paris.

If Wilderness were the prohpets, though, then Liars were the armageddon, the living death of rock and roll. Their soundsystem was wonderful and pounding, maxing out the little club setting. I think it took a while for the crowd to get into the music, probably because Liars refused to open with anything from their new album, Drums Not Dead, which was recorded in Berlin. Instead they rocked out to quite a few songs from the debut, They Threw us in a ditch and Stuck a Monument on Top, and their underappreciated follow-up, They Were Wrong, so We drowned. The songs from the second album were overall the surprise hit of the concert with me; I could never fully appreciate the post-punk dub of the album until it was pounded into my chest. Yes, the concert reminded me (along with everyone else) of Wire (or, more precisely, Wir), but there were also touches of Joy Division; Liars' live show reminded me more of the cult icons' live sets (or the bootlegs I've heard) than the more glossy Interpol or Editors ever could. Around 4 or 5 songs into the set, once Liars finally broke out the new stuff, the Berliners were excitedly bobbing along with the screams. After a solid hour or so of non-stop rocking, with minimal chatting, Angus announced to the crowd: "now we#re going to go off stage for a couple of minutes, get something to drink, and then come back, if you're polite." The Germans and ex-pats were eerily silent, and I wondered if the band would return. Thankfully they did, for a rendition of "Broken Witch" that made my blood chill; the red lighting cast on the thick cloud of European smoke really did look like a red haze of blood, and Liars could easily be described as horse-men. The shreiks of the band, wonderful distortion, and of course drums drums drums did seem to be a cry from hell made by rock and roll. Fittingly, the band closed with a Nirvana cover, Territorial Pissings, devoting it to the only admitting teenager in the crowd: Gotta Find a Way a Better Way.... The crowd, recognizing the cover, called the band out for more, a second encore. The band told the crowd that they would make them regret that, and did, coming back with a distortion-ridden song that no one recognized (myself included). Maybe it was an Einstürzende Neubauten cover.

Cat Power-The Greatest

2006-01-27T09:34:00.000-08:00

8.1 out of 10

There are some bands that have such an emotional effect on many of their fans that it becomes a disadvantage for a reviewer to be a fan of the group. The rabid reviewer not only cannot describe why he/she likes the new album, but can also even be at a lack of words as to what the new album sounds like. Cat Power is one of these dangerously powerful artists. Björk is another. So are the Fiery Furnaces, if you’re Rob Mitchum.

To my advantage or disadvantage, I am not one of those madly in love with Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power. I have grown up around friends who adore her, but her songs always seemed too slow and lacking melody, marking the music for me what Barry from High Fidelity would call “sad bastard music.” I did like, though not love, Moon Pix, What Would the Community Think was pretty good, and I really like her cover of “I’ve found a Reason” on The Covers Record. After familiarity with 4 or 5 records over several years, though, as of a month ago I still had Chan on my “I like them but I still think they’re overrated” list.

Cat Power, overrated no more. Her new album, The Greatest (no, not a hits collection), grounds whatever aloofness may have been present in earlier releases, gives weight to the airiness of previous records. Beginning with the first single and opening track “The Greatest,” you can tell that something is different. The lyrics are still great and bittersweet, but the instrumentation is all different, taking on the Memphis sound that sounds more like a 60s Dusty Springfield or 90s Bob Dylan backing band. Chan’s vocals are still dark and sweet, but on “The Greatest,” they take on a more rugged, almost husky quality (is husky the right word for a singer so delicate?).

As the album keeps going, though, the songs get even deeper, more melodic, and generally more appealing. “Living Proof” would make a great follow-up single to “The Greatest,” and the love ballad “Could We” is marvelous in its delicacy. Amy Phillips from pitchfork was just wrong about “Where is My Love,” which sounds more like a beautiful modern standard than the bore she made it out to be. That song is followed by what may be the best song on the album, the lilting “The Moon,” which wafts lyrically through love and heartbreak in such subtle, uncommon ways.

This album of pop gems isn’t completely removed from earlier suicide-whisperings though; songs like “After it All” and “Hate” sound like earlier Cat Power songs with different instrumentation. Taken on this album of southern country-pop (not pop-country), though, the songs seem to fit more rather than sound more out of place. If anything, The Greatest has shown me the value of earlier Cat Power through the contrast of this new, Michael-friendly stuff.

Overall, maybe Heather Phares from allmusic is right; this is a Cat Power album for music fans who aren’t particularly Cat Power fans. I love it, and I’m not one. I think, though, that after repeat listens the fan club can learn to appreciate this album for its new take on Chan’s already established singer-songwriter sound. Meanwhile, The Greatest can serve as an excellent introduction to Cat Power’s catalogue, and can also stand as a welcome respite for those of us depressed by the fizzling of alt-country, those who want a little more classicism in the indie-rock scene.

2005 Singles, Pt. 5

2005-12-29T14:46:00.000-08:00

This is it, the last singles entry. If there are glaring holes, let me know.

Cat Power-The Greatest
I'm counting this song, like the Strokes song, because (I think) it was released as a single in 2005. I don't think it's the best song on the album, but it very well may be the best single on the album. By no means am I normally a Cat Power fan; her songs are usually too slow, drawn-out, and nonmelodic for me to get into, even though I respect her. The new album, on the other hand, is full of lush, warm melodies, and Memphis-style instrumentation that accenuates her sexy purr. This song shows all of these great aspects of the album, and makes a perfect single from the early #1 album of 2006 (yes, better than Belle and Sebastian).

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club-Ain't No Easy Way
If I were honest with myself and gave this album the number of listens that I would deep down want to, it would probably be in my top 25. Unfortunately, this release was overshadowed byt Junior Senior and Broken Social Scene, and kind of got lost in the shuffle. The album is so different from the first two BRMC albums, and the changes are so many things that I like: gospel-rock ballads, a (faux) bohemian feel, garage influences. This song is a fun romp, something that sounds timeless, or at least a good imitation of something timeless. I know that the aesthetic of BRMC is always change and "fake," but so was the Dandy Warhols' aesthetic before they started sucking, so are all the Ryan Adams albums, and so was the Strokes' aesthetic. I like fake sounds, as long as they are well done, and this song is a perfect example of a sound being captured to perfection.

Okkervil River-A Stone
This song is the most glaring exception to my fun-goofy-song theme for the year in singles. It is emotional, serious, almost melodramatic. I love it for emotional, serious, and melodramatic reasons. The last verse puts me to the edge of tears, when I'm in the right mood. Taken within the album it is much more meaningful, and maybe "For Real" is a better single, but this song blows me away. It is the perfect album track on a near-perfect album, one that shakes with emotioanl content without exploding into gross emo shit, one that is powerful without destroying itself.

Revolution 9-Computer Girl/Computer Girl [Erotic Robotic Remix]
Now that i've given the exception, let me return to the rule. This song is undeniably the zaniest, funniest, you-very-well-might-not-like-it goofiest song on the list. The lyrics are absurd and laughable, the beats are so new wave it's gross, and the guy's vocals sound like he's in a Soft Cell tribute band. I love it. The remix is great too, so I included it here (it also has a great remix name). The song's premise is perfect for a dance song: the speaker is in love with a female robot made for his pleasure, and he explains how great she is. You have to hear it to believe it, so i'll just close with a sample lyric "She can make me laugh / though she doesn't have / any funny bone / underneath." I'm laughing now.

Sigur Ros-Hoppipolla
Sigur Ros certainly wasn't a band that is single-friendly at all. Until this song. In the case of the new album it was the single that hooked me and drew me in to the rest of the soundscapes. That isn't supposed to happen with avant-garde European bands like Sigur Ros. I'm glad it did, though. Beautiful vocals, as always.

Ryan Adams-Trains
In 2005 Ryan Adams was all over the map, in both content and (sigh) quality (I'll write an entry about this later). For me, Jacksonville City Nights was undeniably the highlight of the year: an album full of honky-tonk anthems, pretty lullabyes, and country romps like this one. The hook is great, the lyrics are entertaining if not genuine or heartbreaking (ha!). The rhythm of the song, though, really drives it to the end and brings me back for more; I like where Ry-Ry went with this song and this album, and hope he explores it more before running off and doing something completely different.

Bloc Party-Banquet [Phones Disco Edit]
Wow. Everyone loves this song, whether they are crazy music geeks or first-time listeners. You can play it for your parents, your girlfriend, a frat guy, a high school girl, and your little brother, and they should all like it. I love it. The original is a very good song, but Phones makes it magic. This was the undeniable favorite at SCHOLARTRON, as expected; as the song closed, someone shouted in my ear: "that song kicked my ass." For a short while, everyone in the room was brought together by a song that everyone could appreciate; a song that does that has to be something special.

Royksopp-What Else is There? (Trentemoller Remix)
This is one of the songs that the pitchfork year-end list would have been good for. Unfortunately for pitchfork and fortunately for me, thanks to Dan, I had already heard this song many times and already fallen in love with it. I have never really gotten into Royksopp (I know Dan would kill me for this, but I've never heard him listen to Jesus and Mary Chain, so we're even). Still, the few songs I've heard of theirs I like enough. This song I love; the beats are crazy, the vocals are perfectly used, the song is wonderfully mature. I've decided that what separates a great remix from a good remix is the details; on repeat listens all the little things make this track so great, from the background synths to the great beats on the fade out. This is a fairly rave-y song, but it is so good to make me reconsider the worth or rave-techno music.

Antony and the Johnsons-Hope There's Someone
My favorite track of the year is somewhat an anti-climaz; it's so obvious. What a beautiful song. I fell in love with it as soon as I heard it, but the emotional atmosphere of the winter/spring 2005 was too much for me to handle this song, so I didn't listen to it all the time. In the early summer I was somewhat better equipped to handle it, although the raw emotion and sadness still made me uncomfortable. Then, on the first day of Depauw in the fall, I finally just let the song in, embraced it; it was during a nap, and I had some crazy dreams, only to be woken by the piano poundings at the end of the song. From then on, it was done; this song was it. I know I'm sounding somewhat evangelical talking about this song, but that's how it makes me feel: it's something so beautiful and powerful that you want to go out and share it with other people. I guess that's why I listen to pop music instead of go to church.

2005 Singles, Pt. 4

2005-12-27T00:13:00.000-08:00

Andrew Bird-Fake Palindromes
Ok, ok, I like Andrew Bird. His songs are well-written, his lyrics are some of the best out there, and he can whistle. Why don't I love him? I couldn't tell you; maybe it's the same reason I don't even really like Sufjan, despite repeated listens. Maybe I have an aversion to sensitive bookish indie-pop singer/songwriters. That would explain the Decemberists, too. Nevertheless, I do love this song, it's beautiful, fun, intelligent, etc. When I went to Intonation, I almost bumped into Andrew Bird. It's a good thing I didn't, because I might have broken him; the man needs to eat. I wasn't a big enough fan to brave the heat and stand in the sun, but I did sit back in the shade and enjoy his show. That's how I feel about this song; it's the gleam of greatness that I can appreciate from an artist that I don't connect with so much.

OK Go-Oh Lately it's so Quiet
I really don't like OK Go at all; I disliked the first album and I think the new one is worse. The only reason I ever heard this album track is because I knew the album needed to go on the radio and I was checking for singles. Nevertheless, this song blew me away then, and it still does now; that sexy falsetto is wonderful. The lyrics are great, too, and vivid, something I wouldn't expect from almost any sexy song, let alone an OK Go one. This song serves as an excellent personal reminder that even bad bands can make great songs, and that even bad albums can have great songs. I'm glad I caught this one, especially since other people with similar tastes as mine probably wouldn't have. This song will make appearances on mixtapes for years to come, I imagine.

Devendra Banhart-Chinese Children
Banhart songs never fail to puzzle me with their lyrics, and this one is no exception. The difference here is, though, that this is perhaps the catchiest song he has written, which gives me a lot more time to puzzle over it. Combine that with my studying Chinese nonstop at school, and you've got a Michael hit. Are all children Chinese children? Is Devendra wanting to adopt? Is he ridiculing the banality of nation seperation? Is he just talking nonsense? Whatever it is, I'm glad ol' Devendra went with this combination of tune and content; it made for one of the better songs I heard this year.

Spoon-I Turn My Camera On
Perfect falsetto, fun, intelligent, grows with repeat listens. You all know this song, and I don't have anything new to say about it.

Junior Senior-Can I Get Get Get
It's almost impossible for me to pick one song from this album to include here, but at least one is necessary. The difficulty is that at one point just about every song on this album has been my favorite song; it's one of those albums. I chose this one because it's so dancey, and that seems to be one of the general themes for my favorite singles of the year. 2005 musically was, with a few exceptions, a year where people could get back to being goofy, could stop being serious. Of course Wolf Parade and Okkervil River don't exactly fit that mold, but Franz Ferdinand, the Fiery Furnaces, Gorillaz, Jamie Lidell, etc, all decided to have fun this year, and we all had fun with them. The epitome of this is Junior Senior, and the epitome within their album is "Can I Get Get Get." Just before the wonderful chorus, there is a back and forth between Senior and a female; she keeps repeating "I don't do that kind of thing," and he responds each time. Right before the chorus, Senior's response is "Let's go!"; he knows that she is going to follow his suit and have a good time. Whatever you might feel about goofy dance music, this song is as ambivalently irresistable as Senior's beckoning
within it.

The Cribs-Hey Scenesters!
All of a sudden it's become really cool for hipster musicians to make fun of hipster fans (see "Playboy," Art Brut, LCD Soundsystem). I like it now, although I could see myself getting really sick of it soon. Nevertheless, this otherwise mediocre garage rock band does the same thing on a less cool level, instead attacking more of a British mag-reading Strokes-listening scenester (as ooposed to a pitchfork-reading, animalcollective-listening hipster). Although I am friends with people closer to this second indie kid, and am probably more like him now, I grew up in high school more like the first. I am still a sucker for mediocre garage rock bands like this one, and I love that this band's best song is calling me out on it. It only makes me love it more; now back to hiding those Mooney Suzuki CDs.

Jason Forrest-War Photographer
Wow, a better single than anything from the last fantastic album. How can this be? How can this be? Neat video, too, although it's no "Stepping Off."

Wolf Parade-Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts
Yes, this is my favorite Wolf Parade song; make what you will of that. I think that Wolf Parade sound best when they sound like their name: a parade of wolves. The group certainly howls and almost marches throughout the song, and the lyrics back them up: haunting indeed. The vocals come out like barks, and I can almost feel the breath coming out of the speakers. All the bloggers love "I'll believe in Anything" becuase of its desperation, I think, and I appreciate this, but somehow this song sounds more desperate to me. Also, I like the album version much much more than the EP version; I never liked the song much before the album.

Broken Social Scene-7/4 (Shoreline)
It's hard for me to put into words how much I love the song. I'm pretty sure I first heard it live at Intonation, although now that I think of it I may have just placed that in my memory; I know that BSS played something new there. I downloaded the finished version as soon as it leaked, and it was done; I was in love. I even went back and listened to the unedited version, and even loved that one (I don't know what Pitchfork was thinking). Then, once I heard the album, the song meant so much more to me; it's more like a movement in the symphony that is the first half of BSS. Motifs and sounds barely appear in the song that show up later in the album. Lyrics make more emotional sense. I'm not going to say make more sense, because that would make the song seem a bit too clear; this song, like the album, is a messy affair, one could almost say muddled. But that's what's great about it; it's expansive, it's all over the place, it's beautiful. This is certainly in my top 5 singles of the year, and probably top 3.

2005 Singles, Pt. 3

2005-12-23T21:47:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas Eve, by the way

Stars-Calendar Girl
I'm not sure, but towards the beginning of the year this song stuck with me in an emotional way. It's not the lyrics, I don't think; they are a bit silly. Instead, it's the heartfelt vocals, the quiet accoustics, the feel of the song. There aren't that many songs that I like but can't describe why or how, probably saying something about an over-analytical approach to music and pleasure in general. This song is one of those exceptions, reminding me of times when I just liked music instead of thinking about whether I should or not.

Animal Collective-Banshee Beat
I know that this is Joel's favorite song of the year, and I know that the song that everyone else likes is "Grass." "Grass" is great, but I agree with Joel on this one; the song is sublime. Joel has some theory about the chord change and never being able to go back to the same chord again; I'm not sure what he's getting at, but the musical tension in the song is intriguing without being annoying. The song is pretty and anthemic, two words that don't usually apply to avant-garde music like Animal Collective. It's a keeper, and so are they.

Broadcast-Michael a Grammar
Yes, this is the second time in as many years that my favorite songs list includes a song with my name in the title (Last year: "Michael" by Franz Ferdinand). I think the attraction might be as simple as the song catches my attention; i feel like it is calling me, and in some very superficial way, it is. This song is catchy and creepy. An example: one snowy night in December, I returned to my duplex expecting it to be full of people. Instead of finding everyone though, I found no one in their rooms, and this tune floating through the duplex, like it was haunted: "Michael, Michael Michael". I felt like the Rapture had come, somehow, and I was being chastised for being a non-believer. The song in general has a similar effect on me, a feeling that I feel privy to, given my name.

Missy Elliott-We Run This
I've never loved a Missy album, but man can she make singles. This song is the only mainstream rap song I fell in love with this year, with a possible exception of "Kryptonite." The production on the track is brilliant and ambitious, the rhymes are party-tastic and catchy, the flow is smooth, and the hook is overwhelming. This is exactly what mainstream rap should sound like; likable but ambitious, in the center but far above so much else. Along with Outkast, I'm really glad Missy is popular; she gives me hope for the top 200.

Lou Barlow-Holding Back the Year
There aren't too many single musicians that I follow from band to band with the dedication as Lou Barlow (Malkmus is another example). This might be because few musicians hop bands as often as Barlow; from Dinosaur Jr to sebadoh to the folk implosion to the new folk implosion (the other half is Alaska!) to just plain Lou Barlow. I never completely absorbed the album until late in the year, but ever since I heard the lead-off single back in March (or February) I loved it. In Louisville, I had to make the decision of whether to buy Lou Barlow's CD or Archer Prewitt's; I picked Archer, and I still think his is the better album. Nevertheless, "Holding Back the Year" shows Barlow to have that glint of songwriting talent that Prewitt wishes he could; while Archer's genis lies in beautiful bridges, Lou can just plain write a melody.

Beck-Girl
I can't say enough about this song. First of all, it's a great pop song: the melody is killer, the production makes it widely listenable, and Beck's voice has never sounded better. Secondly, it's an ambitious pop song; the Dust Brothers put down some pop beats, yes, but add crazy fluorishes and details that reward repeat listens, and Beck's melody is equally rewarding. Thirdly, the lyrics are tantalizing; what is he saying? My what girl? Yes, the lyrics sheet has a blank before girl: "My _____ girl." That says it all: you fill in the blank; as Okkervil would say, "add your own intentions." The song is universal in the best way possible, both entertaining and interesting. P.S. The Octet remix is also great, taking the intrigue of the original and undemrining it; Beck's "tongue-tied" lyrics become a jumble of murmurings samples from throughout the song, while the ambiguous chorus takes a turn for the darker side.

Prefuse 73 feat. the Books-Pagina Dos
Yes, I love Prefuse Reads the Books, but I still think this is the best song of the meeting. Everyone has already said so much about this, so I won't; I'll just say I love this song, Prefuse adds something to the Books that made me really happy, etc. There's not much to say unless I want to write an essay.

The Strokes-You Only Live Once
When I first heard "Juicebox;" I became depressed in a way much more real than I'd like to admit. The Strokes, my ex-Rock-Saviors-turned-modern-music-heroes, had fucked up big time. Which made the beauty of this, the second leaked song, so much more important; I had renewed hope, I felt that things might not be so bad after all, maybe even good. As it turns out, it was neither; the album is like a mean between the first two tracks, the best and worst songs on the album. It's no Room on Fire, let alone Is This It, but, like life, the new album has its ups and downs. Maybe this is a little more realistic for the band that for me symbolizes rock and roll; it's not smart, it's not even good, but it has it's lovable moments. This is that moment in a nutshell.

Clor-Magic Touch
What a goofy fucking song. The vocals are laughable, the lyrics as well. "I wear clothes that get me noticed /They get me noticed in a good way." And yet the song somehow manages to be sexy. Goofy+Sexy=a great Michael single. The rest of the album may be full of "pop gems," as Joel says, shaking his head, but if I want pop gems I'll listen to Belle and Sebastian or something. I want goofy, I want embarrassing, I want weird. And this is it; the bridge, a huge blast of distortion in the middle of a dance song. What the fuck? That's what everyone sober enough might have thought when they heard this song in the middle of our dance party, SCHOLARTRON; me, I just kept dancing.

Hot Chip-Playboy
Another single in my top 5 of the year is this one. I laugh everytime I hear it: "Blazin' out Yo La Tengo Hey..." Thematically similar to last year's "Losing my Edge" (though not as clever), "Playboy" exposes the goofiness that any hipster has, nay, that the very idea of cool has. A couple of years ago, frustrated with people making fun of Badly Drawn Boy, I wrote an essay about how ridiculous "cool" music is. Of course I still buy into cool music; I listen to the Velvet Underground more than most people. The best part about the Hot Chip song, though, is that it is a cool, goofy song about how goofy "cool" is; the vocals are amazing, the beat is perfect, and the chorus melody is to die for. That may be some kind of meta-irony, but whatever it is, it is both goofy and cool. You could say the same thing about the Art Brut album, but let's face it; while their wit and goofiness may make them cool, they are not nearly as cool to begin with as Hot Chip.

2005 Best Singles, Pt. 2

2005-12-22T11:45:00.000-08:00

Black Mountain-No Satisfaction
A wonderful single on an amazingly not single-friendly album; this song is wonderfully psychedelic (what is that instrumental? a recorder/song flute?) The mix of vocals is one of the best things in Black mountain, sounding like an impromptu rock happening like you hear in the 60s. The girl sounds like Janis Joplin, which helps; this also helps the best of the Pink Mountaintops. This song makes me feel like I'm in a different time, which is helpful sometimes.

Art Brut-Emily Kane
Despite their absence on my year-end top 25, I do love Art Brut; they are wicked funny. I think their songwriting is neat, too; a little simplistic, and I HATE the comparisons to Jonathan Richman (am I missing something?), but I like it. This song, though, stands out; it is fun, funny, and somehow heartfelt in that I'm making a joke-but-something-about-this-is-real sort of way.

De Novo Dahl-Big Ol' Buttons
This is from the remix portion of the album, the "Kittens" side of Cats and Kittens. Overall, I think the remixes are soooo much better than the originals; they give the band the edge that they need. This song is weird, spooky, goofy, and sexy, all at the same time; I love it. This is why I think we are entering the remix-era; bands can record something, and immediately make variations on it that may or may not be better than the original.

Feist-Let it Die
I gave this CD to my mom for mother's day, telling her: "she's like Norah Jones, but cool." I still believe that; this album is full of Barnes & Noble friendly coffee songs, but somehow they sound good, not too yuppie. This song, too, is beautiful in a way that Norah must wish she could be; it sounds heartfelt and pretty, and still somehow acceptable for a Sonic Youth fan to listen to. Maybe that's because she's on the new Broken Social Scene album, but I don't think that's it.

The Apes-Imp Ahh
Like I said on my album list, the Apes won my song of the year last year with "Tapestry Mastery," an insane rant of a song that drove me a little madder everytime I heard it. This song is great too, if not quite as epic; the riff is angry and great, and the shouting/chanting is a creepy as ever. The song title says it all; something that a human might say when acting like an angry monkey; that's what the Apes are.

Heikki-Still you don't know Me
I bought this CD when I heard about the Concretes-Heikki connection, and read the glowing review on allmusic. Although the group doesn't sound at all like Concretes 2, the album is great, filled with heartfelt Byrds-ish Swedish retro psych-country hymns. This is the saddest and the best of these songs; I think that Heikki captures Americana sound better than almost any Americans could, a la Kinks Muswell Hillbillies. I wonder why the Europeans can do such a better job?

M.I.A.-Galang
Galang, galang, galang. 'nuff said.

Jackson 5-I want you back [DJ Z-Trip Remix]
When I opened the box for Motown Remixed at WGRE, I was excited but concerned; this could either be really great or really horrible. It was the former; whoever put it together did a great job of getting some of the best hip-hop DJs in the biz to do these songs; all of them are wonderful. I thought about putting this in my top 25 albums, but it wasn't really new music per se. Anyway, Z-Trip is the best of the best with mainstream hip hop, and he does a masterful job putting more modern funk into this great pop song. DJs at the station fell in love with the Motown songs I put on the air, and it restored my faith in the power for good music to be popular; it just has to be old.

Tom Vek-If You want
Kyle played Tom Vek's "C-C" NONSTOP in our duplex for a couple weeks. He claimed it as some sort of personal anthem; in spite of the lyrical content; I can see the connection. I really like that song, but "If You Want" is more for me; it's fun, dark, sexy, and borderline nonsensical. That's what I want out of good dance/party songs, as this list shows. I've put this song on all kinds of mixes. It makes a good album track; it isn't too flashy, but it takes you to the next song, entertaining you all the way.

Architecture in Helsinki-Do the Whirlwind
I'll get this out of the way early; this song is definitely in my top 5 singles, probably top 3. When I heard this song on the band's website, I got really, really excited. The album didn't let me down at all, but this song remains the best song on the album, and, I'm guessing, perhaps the best song they'll ever make. It's hard to reach this sort of peak again; listening to the bliss of this anthem, I got the same feeling I had when listening to The Shins' "New Slang" back in'01. They haven't gotten to such heights since then, although I hope they will. The same, I fear, will happen to AiH, although I'm holding out for them. Nevertheless, this is a song to remember. Wow.

2005 Singles, Pt. 1

2005-12-21T11:05:00.000-08:00

So pitchfork's acclaimed year-end album list was really, really, discouraging, but what disappointed me even more was their singles list. Last year and before, pitchfork did a pretty good job of pointing out interesting and unheard singles from the year; now they only picked silly mainstream rap and already-known indie rock tracks. The few neat singles they mentioned (trentemoller remix, etc) I had mostly already heard. Anyway, here are some of my favorite songs of the year (not all of them were released as singles), and while they may be as boringly obvious as some of pitchfork's picks, they won't be filled with shit cred-appeal picks.
P.S. These aren't in order, but I will do 3-4 installments of these songs.

The Chemical Brothers feat. Q-Tip-Galvanize
not only does it feature one of my favorite MCs ever, but the Bros. lay down some of their best, most widestream breakbeat-acid beats in one of the year's best party tracks. With the number of times I've played this, even I would think I have grown tired of it, but when it comes on to this day I still smile.

The Russian Futurists-Paul Simon
I'm not exactly a fan of the Futurists, but this album-opener sounds exactly like its title implies: an over-the-top happy, Paul Simon-y anthem. I heard this song in Bloomington this summer, and every time I hear it I think of sunshine and singing birds.

Wonder & Plan B-Cap Back
I don't know anything about grime, and I don't like a lot of what I hear, but this last track on the Run the Road comp gets me. the MCs keep belittling those who follow fads, all the while telling the listener to use the song as a ring tone. At the end they acknowledge the irony of the song, making the track ironic on a few levels. The best part: the song is catchy, and would sound great as a ring tone.

Need New Body-Brite tha' Day
A friend of mine sent this song to me, and it got me really excited; the rhymer sounds halfway between MC Chris and Ninja High School. The lyrics are hilarious: "i've got some pastries / let's just eat 'em up," and the beats are fun. I was pretty disappointed when I heard the rest of the album, but this track is certainly a keeper.

The Books-Be Good to the Always
I read a review with the books, and they said that their next project will involve putting new Books music to video, expanding their realm of sampling. If they do, I hope they go back and put this song to words; as the Books kept the same sound, more or less, this year, they also made baby steps at mainstream appeal, including making singles-worthy tracks like this one and doing collaborations with Prefuse (another song on my year-end list). I like the rest of this Books album, but i LOVE this song.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah-In this Home on Ice
When I first downloaded this track, I thought I was in heaven: a modern band putting together My Bloody Valentine soundscapes with late-Talking Heads ramblings. I tried to buy the album, but wasn't willing to have it shipped from the band's website and couldn't have it ordered at any record store, so I didn't hear the rest of the album for a few weeks. Of course, after hearing a song like this, when I heard the rest of the album almost a month later I was supremely disappointed, and thus did CYHSY fall from grace. Still, though, this song is excellent, ranking among the best for the year.

Gorillaz-DARE
Yes, Feelgood Inc. is another contender for single of the year, but for me personally this trumps it in every way. Human League, anyone? Catchiest hook of the year? Maybe. It's funky, but not too funky; it's fun, but not quite goofy (even though I do like goofy songs, as you will see from my singles picks [Need New Body and the Futurists already]). The album, I felt, had some filler, but the singles are great, and this is the greatest among those.

Jamie Lidell-Multiply
Jamie Lidell is everything that I should consider a guilty pleasure, but I'm not ashamed at all. He is white (and British!), and he does imitate everyone from Al Green to Marvin Gaye to the Temptations. All on this song. This was the song of the summer, yet somehow I've kept playing it through the fall and winter. A wonderful track, probably in my top 5 singles if I had to make one.