Best of the Oughts: Albums 71-80

This list reminds me of a lot of my last couple of years in Ohio. Other than a couple of the selections, this was most of my listening during that period. It's weird how certain years have lumped together on this decade list. Makes me think I didn't do a very good job of mixing things up.

Oh well.


80. Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica
A lot of people have identified this as Modest Mouse's best work. While I don't agree with that assessment, I do feel this is as solid an a major label debut as there has been this decade by a former indie band who should have always stayed indie.

79. Thao Nguyen and Get Down Stay Down - We Brave Bee Stings and All
The first eight or so tracks on this record can carry you a long way. Thao makes you want to hold her hand and go to punk rock shows and protest the war and be her boyfriend. Then you wake up and realize you're in your mid-thirties with a kid. It was a nice dream while it lasted. Luckily, you still have the record.

78. The Strokes - Is This It
I forgot about this one until I started looking through some other best of decade lists. The hype on this band was unreal. I remember hearing a story of Sonic Youth being asked overseas what they thought of The Strokes, being a fellow NYC band and all. They had never heard of them. Strangely enough, The Strokes backed up that out-of-nowhere hype with this solid effort. It's too bad they were the decade's first Vampire Weekend, making it impossible for them to ever have any kind of indie cred or critical love.

77. Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It in People
This is the Canook co-op to end all Canook co-op. Sometimes too many cooks in the kitchen makes a bad stew. And sometimes all those cooks get it right.

76. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Source Codes and Tags
When bands were simplifying their sound and their monikers, this band with the really long name was adding layer upon layer to create some of the most vibrant music of the oughts.

75. Belle and Sebastian - Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant
Some of the most gut-wrenching moments ever can be found within "I Fought in a War" or "Don't Leave the Light on Baby."

74. The Moldy Peaches - The Moldy Peaches
My sister once teased me that a mixed tape must have been made that summer I bought the Moldy Peaches as every other song was by the duo. They made fun of hipsters (themselves) way before people did that through blogs.

73. Bright Eyes - Lifted, or the Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground
This sort of felt like Conor Oberst's first attempt at a big, theatrical album. He pulled it off and has toned it down ever since. This was when you knew Oberst had arrived.

72. Spoon - Kill the Moonlight
Some point to this as Spoon's finest moment. I think they were just getting started at this point.

71. Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co.
Honestly, I never gave this band a chance because of the name. I only purchased this album this year, but I have to admit I was wrong. It's beautifully sad and poetic and full of all the twang I love. That and it's from Ohio.

Best of the Oughts: Albums 91-100

This is the first installment of my Best of the Oughts series. Today's post is the first ten of my best albums of the decade list. I love all the records on this list. Just because these ten are at the bottom does not mean I dislike them.

Numbers 91-100 actually have a decent representation of women. Despite my feminist leanings, I am not very good at filling my collection with female performers. However, the ones I do include are typically among my favorites. I'll spend loads of money on mediocre-to-crappy male musicians for some reason. I guess those are the limitations of gender roles on one's record collection.

There are also some marginal releases from really great bands at this end of the list. I sometimes prefer an OK album from a great band because even their worst material is better than the best unknown bands. That or I am a sucker for rock tradition.


100. St. Vincent - Marry Me
I bought this months after it was released on a trip to Seattle. I have to say that I was blown away from the first listen, so intense and complex. The layers, textures, and incredible performances on this album made me wonder whether Annie Clark is the female Sufjan Stevens or the other way around.


99. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
The last two tracks get me every time with this one. It's no Apologies to the Queen Mary, but it's not as bad as some thought. This is the album Wolf Parade meant to make before Isaac Brock got a hold of them. (Also, this is easily the worst album cover of the decade.)


98. Silver Jews - Bright Flight
David Berman is maybe the most gifted wordsmith on this list. His best work was in the last decade, but this was a good send-off to his musical career.


97. Sleater-Kinney - One Beat
This was Sleater-Kinney's protest album. What were they protesting? What have you got? 9/11 just happened and George W Bush was running the country into the ground. This provided some good material.


96. Devendra Banhart - Cripple Crow
I have forgiven Devendra Banhart for his hippie ways. How can you not when someone records an album like this that transcends jam bands, indie rock, and punk?


95. The Black Keys - The Big Come Up
Dirty and fat are the licks on this record. You should only listen to this on vinyl. Oh, and they're from Ohio.


94. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
There's a ton of Vancouver all over my top-100. This is another from from the Wolf Parade co-op. Difficult but so worth the effort.


93. Radiohead - Amnesiac
It's amazing what Radiohead has done this decade. Here's the first of several Radiohead efforts on the list. I never saw the direction they've taken in this century since OK Computer. Truly inspired.


92. The White Stripes - Elephant
By the time Elephant came out, the Stripes were huge. The sound on this record matches their hugeness better than any other point in their oeuvre.


91. Belle and Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress
I don't know exactly where I'd rank this among the Belle and Sebastian records, but it does hold some special memories for R and I. I haven't been impressed much from the material coming out of B&S alums since. This may have been the beginning of the end.

The Revynilization Project: Screening Records for Lu

I just received some records recently, realizing that they all represent my preference almost exclusively for mid-90's indie rock. What better opportunity is there to introduce music to Lucia than to play some of the best records and artists from the era? Besides, I've neglected my music fan base and this feature in particular.

Last Splash - The Breeders

















Music
This album still stands out from anything in the 90's or even this decade. Kim Deal put together her best line-up for this classic relic from the grunge era. Maybe they weren't the most talented group (I still don't know how Kelley passed as a guitar player.), but they were tight. This has to be one of the best and most unique albums of the past 20 years. It still holds up today.

Insert
For once, an LP insert doesn't measure up its CD counterpart. The artwork found in the original CD was contained in a booklet. It's as if the design was more geared toward a jewel case than a record sleeve. It's sort of a letdown to say the least as the cool, brightly colored photos of the band found in the original packaging are now relegated to sharing space on the inner sleeve.

Sleeve
Where the insert fails, the sleeve succeeds. The colors on the cover photo just pop. The red, black, and green just scream at you to stare as the record spins. Additionally, the back features the black-and-white photo of the band in a convertible as if waving in a parade. This was certainly the size in which these pieces were intended to be viewed.

Extras
None. Well, unless you consider the months and months I waited for some lawyers to argue how this thing should be re-released. Either way, extras or not, it was worth the wait.

Record
180 gram vinyl is nothing to scoff at. The sound is great. As the cover art was meant for an LP sleeve, Last Splash was destined to be heard this way.

whY?
Rarely is there ever an album recorded in an era of loud, aggressive men that not only challenges the sounds and aesthetics of the time but also the gender politics the way Last Splash did for me. If you have a daughter who wants to rock, buy this record. I do and did.

The Soft Bulletin - The Flaming Lips

















Music
Before the Lips turned silly, they recorded The Soft Bulletin, a difficult-but-brilliant pop record. This album is the only perfect record the boys from OK ever recorded, but who can say that much? It's big in the right parts, touches you where it counts, and fills a set of headphones like few others. This is an essential listen.

Insert
The sleeves for this double LP are proper sleeves for protecting vinyl. You know the kind with paper, clear plastic lining and a hole in the middle to reveal the record's label.

Sleeve
As with the music, one can see the direction of the Flaming Lips' graphic design with silk screened images over bright colors and intricate designs and sharp typography. The inside features a great black and white of the band and lyrics. Record sleeves like this cause people to fall in love with albums.

Extras
Three outtakes are included on CD. Not only does this entice consumers with new music, but it also maintains the integrity of the original release and it's intended sequencing. The songs are throwaways, but a bonus nonetheless.

Record
180-gram vinyl just looks, feels, and sounds better. The only thing that could have made this better would have been some color on the vinyl.

whY?
Because I can only think of a small handful of records I like as much as this one.

No One's First, and You're Next - Modest Mouse

















Music
Honestly, I've heard more of this EP on KCOU than I have had time to listen to it at home. In my experience, EP's either contain songs that are too good to shelve until the next full-length release or throwaways that didn't quite cut it for the last album. In this case, these songs are closer to the latter category. However, "History Sticks to Your Feet" is beginning to stick. What I do like about this EP is that Isaac Brock continues to channel his early recordings in his most recent work. For a couple of albums he seemed to drift away from the warbling psychopath with cheap Japanese guitars I grew to love, but this is the second release that at least connects to his work in the mid-to-late-nineties. Either way, nothing he records sounds like any of the other crap on the radio or not played on MTV these days.

Insert
Nothing special. There's some continuation of the charcoal drawings of flies/insects and lyrics. I like the use of thick, quality paper for the insert with plastic coating on the inside to protect the vinyl.

Sleeve
Charcoal drawings of menacing insects with some handmade pen-and-ink lettering. It reminds me more of something one would have seen in an early Modest Mouse concert poster. It's simple and will stick out among their other releases.

Extras
There's the digital download...or so I thought. The file downloaded but won't decompress. Eventually, I'll get back to it and have my listen in the car, but for now it's vinyl only.

Record
I don't know for sure whether it's 180-gram vinyl, but it certainly is solid. There's no wobble in this record.

whY?
EP's are essential to a band's catalog. They give the listener a peak into the recording process between albums. That, or they're just another way to relieve you of some cheddar. You're pick. I think this is an intriguing part of the Modest Mouse oeuvre and should be given a chance.

God Help the Girl - God Help the Girl

















Music
Stuart Murdoch left Belle and Sebastian behind for this project. Maybe he should have rethought that plan of action. This record just sounds like one of those romantic comedies put out by Working Title Films. You know, the company who makes all those sappy comedies starring Hugh Grant and [enter name of American actress of the moment here]. Sure, those films are cute and involve lots of characters, but their benign for the most part. Even as playful as Belle and Sebastian became in this decade, there was always a hint of cynicism there to make you feel alive. This record is a Hugh Grant movie costarring Scarlett Johansson as a busy American shopkeeper in Glasgow who doesn't have time for love until a mysterious-yet-bumbling land surveyor (Grant) sweeps her off her feet. Do you really need to see how it ends?

Insert
The lyric sheet is white on black on rather heavy card stock, hugging the vinyl.

Sleeve
A simple black-and-white photo features a young woman looking longingly somewhere...very Belle and Sebastian.

Extras
There is the digital download.

Record
The vinyl is of medium quality. It's certainly not 180-gram.

whY?
If you miss Belle and Sebastian, this is worth a listen. The sleeve alone will look pretty cool in your record collection.

Overall Verdict: While the two new releases aren't particularly offensive, they are certainly not essential listening. The two re-releases are essential and will be played ad nauseam for little Lucia.

The Best in Lit-Rock

If there's one thing that can define music of this past decade it's that we will constantly find new monikers for every conceivable genre to describe nearly every single musician's unique take on the art form itself. More genres have popped up since the millennium than houses foreclosed upon in the last year. (What? Is it too early.) Lit rock is one such genre.

Without getting into too many specifics, lit rock is basically a form of progressive/alternative/ college/indie rock that is highly literate and almost pretentiously filled with references to all the great novels and their endless themes. Lit rockers are either failed novelists writing songs to pay the bills. Another way to identify lit rock is to find music that English students would love. Dylan, the Kinks, and Costello are probably the greatest influences on the genre.

Here is my list of the ten best lit rockers right now.

10. The Hold Steady
Admittedly, I don't even listen to The Hold Steady. I can't get past front man Craig Finn's vocal style. It just sounds like he's reading straight from a book. I guess some people like that stuff.

9. Camera Obscura
Camera Obscura comes to us via Belle & Sebastian territory. I don't know how literary their lyrics may or may not be, but they do sound like a band that an English major would love.

8. Bright Eyes
I already realize people will have a problem with this pick. People hate the little Dylan from Omaha, but he can write. Sure, his songs are typically overwrought with allegory and self-pity, but what could be more literary than that?

7. The Mountain Goats
this is another band on the list that I haven't really adopted as my own. It doesn't mean I don't like them. They just have stuck. Anyway, I cannot deny what I have heard and what many, many others think. Songwriter John Darnielle insures the band's spot on this list.

6. Decemberists
Reviewers' attempts to describe this band might be where the term "lit rock" originated. This what you get when a bunch of grad students who love Morrissey as much as they love Faulkner get together and write songs about pirates and gay teenagers.

5. Destroyer
This one was a stretch, but I think Dan Bejar's lyrics speak for themselves.

4. Silver Jews
Lead Jew, David Berman, is one of the few (if not only) musicians on this list who is actually a published author. He's a poet with a penchant for all that is dirty in Nashville. American Water could stand up to any novel written in the last fifty years as a great literary piece of Americana.

3. Belle and Sebastian
Our friends from Galsgow are every thinking man/woman's favorite mope rockers. Stories about failed artists and transgendered school children litter B&S's seven albums and numerous EP's. The name comes from a French children's book.

2. Okkervil River
Besides the literary tales Okkervil River weaves, they might have the most compelling figure in Will Sheff of any of these bands. All the great writers were dynamic people, but few could captivate an audience the way Mr. Sheff does.

1. So I lied. I don't have ten lit rock bands. A list of the top nine just didn't have the same ring. Besides, I'm sure all of you have thought of at least one band I have left off this list. So, speak up. suggest your favorite lit rock performer in the comments.