Top 10 Movies of 2012

1. The Kid with a Bike
   The only masterpiece this year is the best movie by the most consistently great filmmakers of the century. A movie that makes all other Dardenne movies better in retrospect, and inherits Bresson's title of secular scripture. Stages the best miracle in film that I can think of offhand.
2. The Master
   After trying to make the Western perverse with There Will Be Blood (hint: it already was), Anderson takes on the other great American genre: the Romance. Still doesn't quite earn the relationship that the actors give it (is that a genre convention?), but the motorcycle scene is special, as is the “Slow Boat to China” scene, if unearned.
3. Damsels in Distress
   Stillman once again manages to show compassion for his characters while decidedly not identifying with them; in other words, the opposite of the alt-American comedic tradition of Woody Allen and Wes Anderson (closer to Altman). Realism is not the point in a movie that is about frivolity.

4. 5 Broken Cameras
   The best documentary I saw all year also tells one of the best narratives. An incredibly explicit political film also tells an incredibly personal story. A better film about filmmaking than “This is Not a Film.” I can't believe that Sugar Man bullshit won the Academy Award.
5. Zero Dark Thirty
   The antithesis of Zodiac does a better job telling us just what someone would do for certainty, and it is more terrible than I could imagine. The “100%” scene is so dark and politically disturbing, and the final shots are among the most haunting of the year. People who criticize this film's politics don't seem to appreciate how open it is to letting them articulate their problems with it. You can't make a politically “correct” film about counter-terrorism and have it be any good.

6. The Deep Blue Sea
7. Prometheus
   The inverse of Alien. Whereas Alien was excellent for its claustrophobia, Prometheus makes us afraid of openness. Alien was tight and focused; Prometheus is convoluted and all over the place. But the movie's pessimism is profoundly affecting, beautiful and uncompromisimg. Shaw's faith is appropriately underexplained and unflinching. Appropriate quote from Melancholia (which would be a good double-feature partner): “The earth is evil. We don't need to grieve for it.”

8. Django Unchained
   Not a great film, but its cruelty and brutality confirms that Inglourious Basterds was. Tarantino's interview with Gates is worth a read. Worthy of all the debate it has created.
9. Bernie
   Jack Black gives the best acting performance in several years. A darkly hilarious movie that gets explores religiosity and sexuality without getting preachy or reductive.
10. Ruby Sparks
    I have no defense for liking this rom-com that most people I respect will despise. I think it does a great job of deconstructing the Manic-Pixie-Dreamgirl fetish, though, even while engaging with it (wouldn't it have to?). And towards the end it contains a perverse scene of cruelty the likes of which every Romantic Comedy should aspire to.

Top Tracks of 2012

On reflection, it seems my favorite songs of the year fall into two general categories: intimate, introspective ballads (xx, rhye, perfume genius), and agressively fun/loud party songs (solange, drake, FIDLAR).
 1. The xx - Angels
 I don't understand how this song, and this album, didn't get more credit/buzz. I want this song to become a standard that is covered in hotel lobbies after several decades.
 2. Perfume Genius - Hood
Beautiful, heartbreaking.
 3. TRUST - Sulk
The best song from the best new band of 2012. Like a better, darker Depeche Mode single.
 4. Solange - Losing You
Best pop song/video of the year.
 5. FIDLAR - Cheap Beer
So glad they could best last year's excellent "Wake Bake Skate." Makes me want to skateboard/be 19.
 6. Rhye - Open (Living Room Version)
I also considered the excellent "The Fall," as well as the studio version of this song, which was unfortunately (but appropriately) used for that Victoria's Secret commercial. But this stripped down acoustic version shows just how lovely and sexy the songwriting is.
 7. Japandroids - The House that Heaven Built
First heard this live in the Fall of 2011, and haven't been able to shake it since.
 8. Fiona Apple - Werewolf
9. Angel Haze - New York (King Krule Rework)
A remix that really transforms the original while staying true to it.
10.Sky Ferreira - Everything is Embarrassing 
11. Drake (f. Lil Wayne) - The Motto
No but seriously.
 12. King Tuff - Bad Thing
Makes me want to start a band. It would be fun!
 13. Light Asylum - Shallow Tears (12" version)
 14. Dum Dum Girls - Lord Knows AND Divine Fits - Shivers
Two great songs that pay homage to "Shivers" by the Boys Next Door - My most listened-to track of 2012 by far.
 15. Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemerey Sings
 16. Chromatics - These Streets Will Never Look the Same
Better than "Kill for Love," which is saying something.
 17. Metz - Wet Blanket
 18. Jeremih - Fuck You All the Time (Shlomo Remix)
Thanks for the tip John!
 19. Andy Stott - Numb
 20. A Place to Bury Strangers - Onwards to the Wall
Why did no one talk about this EP? Sounds like vintage JAMC

2011 Top albums

Without frills, pictures, or further ado:

1. The Beach Boys – SMiLE Sessions
You know that line from Barenaked Ladies' “Brian Wilson”: “just listening and re-listening / to Smiley-Smile”? That's me.
2. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
At first I was disappointed with the album after the obvious greatness of “Vomit,” but while not all the songs are as grandiose, they all develop into much more than they seem.
3. The Weeknd – House of Balloons / Thursday
4. Beyonce – 4
My top 25 songs of the year would have 3 from this album. Could be even higher if it weren't for that atrocious first single.
5. Beirut – The Rip Tide
By far my favorite Beirut album comes when he ditches the fancy instrumentation and lets his songwriting (and voice) come through relatively unadorned.
6. M83 – Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
7. Bon Iver – S/T
8. Real Estate – Days
Pretty standard 90s-sounding alt-rock (Yo La Tengo?) executed to perfection. Yes, thank you.
9. Destroyer - Kaputt
10. King Creosote and Jon Hopkins – Diamond Mine
Not sure why no one (besides embarrassing NPR) is into this album.
11. Eleanor Friedberger – Last Summer
So much preferable to any Fiery Furnaces album, to me. A big surprise for me.
12. Ryan Adams – Ashes and Fire
Best Ryan Adams album since Jacksonville City Nights. That maybe isn't saying much, but I'm impressed.
13. Cloud Nothings – S/T
Every year there's some new indie rock band (usually teenagers) that makes me nostalgic for high school and getting excited about some energetic but flawed “rock” album (see also: #25). It's silly and my friends rarely identify with these picks.
14. Apparat – The Devil's Walk
15. The Rapture – In The Grace of Your Love
Rapture deliver again. Not sure what happened to them in pop/hipster consciousness. Is this how 30-somethings talk about Wilco?
16. Kendrick Lamar – Section 80
Wonderful samples and laid-back flow.
17. Escort – Escort
I love disco unironically.
18. Teirus Nash - 1977
19. James Blake – S/T
Everyone seems to have forgotten about poor darling James Blake. James, I never loved you, but I didn't forget you either.
20. Tycho – Dive
Not exciting but infinitely listenable and never boring.
21. Cults – S/T
22. Jens Lekman – An Argument With Myself
Jens has a spot reserved on any year-end list for me, even if all he releases is a silly little EP.
23. Drake – Take Care
24. Wild Flag – Wild Flag
25. Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong

Also, like Nick, I found myself listening more and more to ambient or modern classical music while I worked. It is hard to rate these "ignorable" or "mood" albums alongside the pop albums above, so I'll just list them (in no order) below:

Olafur Arnalds – Living Room Songs
Swod – Drei
Disk Jokke – Sagara
Blanck Mass – S/T
Hauschka – Youyoume
Bohren and Der Club of Gore - Beileid

TOP ALBUMS 2010

I have a suspicion that this is by far my most vanilla list, especially at the top. Does this mean I am getting old and my tastes are getting stale? Maybe. I will post my top tracks later if I have time.
1.The National – High Violet
2.Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
3.Belle and Sebastian – Write about Love
4.Erykah Badu – New Amerykah Part II
5.Warpaint – The Fool
6.Girls – Broken Dreams Club EP
7.LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
8.Hot Chip – One Life Stand
9.Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
10.Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
11.Antony and the Johnsons - Swanlights
12.The Drums – The Drums
13.Cloud Nothings – Leave You Forever EP
14.Baths - Cerulean
15.Dom – Sun Bronzed Greek Gods EP
16.Diamond Rings – Special Affections
17.Matthew Dear – Black City
18.Tallest Man on Earth – The Wild Hunt / Sometimes the Blues... EP
19.Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
20.Caribou - Swim
21.Anoraak – Wherever the Sun Sets
22.The Radio Dept.- Clinging to a Scheme
23.Fang Island – Fang Island
24.Michael Mayer – Immer 3
25.Kisses – Heart of the Nightlife
26.Clinic - Bubblegum
27.Pantha du Prince – Black Noise
28.Teen Daze – Four More Years / Beach Dreams EP
29.Jamie Lidell - Compass
30.Prins Thomas – Prins Thomas

TOP 100 of the DECADE!!!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.