Best of the Oughts: Albums 41-50

Strangely enough, I discovered all these albums after moving here. A couple were actually released before making the nine-hour trek, but I didn't listen to them until landing in Misery. It says something about my tastes that so many albums from recent years are popping up at the top of my list. I'm either forgetting how much I loved music from the first half of the decade or the newer stuff is just fresher. It will be interesting to see what I'm listening to in ten years.

This list really could be someone's top-10 of the decade. I'm not kidding about that.

Although my list is still vacant of female musicians, there are typically 2-3 in each set of ten, which isn't as bad as I thought. It's certainly better than the hip-hop representation.


50. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
All the magazines told me this was the best album of 2006 and I believed them. With this record, TVOTR became the next REM/Radiohead/Wilco. Now, they're collectively known as Remradioheadwilcotvontheradio: The Band Pitchfork will never admit to loving all the way, but Spin will crown as album of the year every time.


49. Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy
Have I mentioned my affinity for Will Sheff and his indie rock star powers?


48. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
I still can't get that "Funeral" song out of my head. This formula of falsetto voices over straight up guitar onslaughts should not work anymore, but it does. That and trucker hats and beards. Aren't we done with that look yet? Apparently not.


47. Eef Barzelay - Bitter Honey
I never really ever got Clem Snide, but this I did get. Eef Barzelay made the saddest record about Thanksgiving disasters and music video girls you've never heard.


46. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
What a perfect way to end a band's run. Clap Your Hands decided to put out their best record first, delegating them to one-indie-hit wonders. Bravo! It sounds like a John Hughes movie to me.


45. Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
Lovely Jenny Lewis and the lovelier Watson Twins Patsy Clined and Neko Cased their way into our hearts. Pairs nicely with She and Him.


44. Bonnie "Prince" Billy - The Letting Go
Who knew that Bjork wasn't the only Icelandic princess? Will Oldham is bald with a beard to boot. Haunting and beautiful and haunting. Again.


43. Cat Power - The Greatest
Actually, it's #43, not the greatest of the oughts. Chan Marshal sold her soul to get some soul and a rhythm section plus some horns and guitar. This shouldn't have worked, but it did.


42. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Spoon. They are all over this list. They might be another candidate for band of the decade. This album just has them chugging along until the next. They are on such an incredible roll of great, great albums it's unbelievable.


41. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
For me, this was Isaac Brock's best effort of this decade. He brings in guitarists from melodramatic 80's Manchester bands and singers from melodramatic 00's Portland in order to add layers to his warped vision never thought possible. I suspect big things beyond this album.

Some Things to Blog

I have some blogging to catch up on. Here's what I'm pondering...

M Ward's record and the compilation Dark Was the Night arrived in the mail today. I'll grab the digital file of M Ward's record and let you know how it went. The other record will have to wait until I can get home and sit down for a minute or two. Maybe I'll even do proper reviews. Maybe.

I drank some beers this past weekend I haven't told you about yet. I do plan to review these beers, but it's time i don't have. FYI, I had a New Glarus Spotted Cow and a Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye on Friday for HH. The other beer of the weekend was a Southern Tier Backburner Barley Wine. I actually bought two of the barley wine, one for now and one for later.

I listened to Nirvana, Heatmeiser, and Brainiac at some point on the iPod while driving home. This got me thinking about dead rock stars from my generation. I saw the front men from all three bands perform. However, I don't know what I'll say about it. I just want to say something.

My blogging is lagging for two reasons: Facebook and Twitter. I'm sure there's a blog post in there somewhere. I may even have to mention all the other places I contribute. It's getting outta hand.

Depending on how much research I do, I may or may not tell you about a musician who has intrigued me today, despite having no nationally distributed album. Her name is Shilpa Ray and she's so harsh...in a good way. Brooklyn Vegan, who I usually skip in my daily readings, called my attention to Shelpa and her Happy Hookers. You can grab an MP3 here and here or visit her MySpace page (yes, bands still use those) here.

Also in BV, a little band called Clap your Hands Say Yeah may be making a comeback like only a blog band could: after two whole albums. They apparently played a long set the other night and revealed some great new material. We'll have to wait and see if they'll make up for the show in COMO they cancelled a while back. Actually, I won't blog about this anymore. I just wanted to let you all know that I have great hopes for a CYHSY "reunion" tour. When Hell freezes over indeed.

#14 of 2007: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Some Loud Thunder

Thirty-One Words:

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah open Some Loud Thunder with a dud due to too much bass, but it gets much better from there. The Talking Heads sound is somewhat absent.

The one song that makes it worth $17.95: "Satan Said Dance"

Pitchfork Says: 7.2

As Promised...The Devil on a Sunday!

Here's the final track listing for my mix tape/CD entry for Good Magazine. Notice that the cassette tape format provides more space for extra songs. All I can say is thank God for iTunes!:

The Devil Made Me Do It…Dance That Is
Side A
1. Run Devil Run (Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins) - Soft, soothing old-county harmonies urging the devil to take off.
2. Satan Gave Me A Taco (Beck) - A lost indie classic that still makes me giggle and rock out with equal ferocity.
3. (Antichrist Television Blues) (The Arcade Fire) - Not so much about the Devil, but the imagery of not wanting a job downtown with planes crashing into buildings is eerie.
4. Satan Said Dance (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) - Dance song of the year!
5. Let The Devil In (TV On The Radio) - Eighties drum machines mixed with a tribal drum beat and choral hollering makes the head bob. And that bass groove is just plain evil.
6. Devil Town (Bright Eyes) - I prefer this version to Daniel Johnston's original. DJ is like the unappreciated Bob Dylan of indie.
7. Sympathy for the Devil (The Rolling Stones) - Cah, cah! Oo, oo! Classic.
8. Devil's Train (Crooked Fingers) - Pretty guitar licks open as Eric Bachman's menacing voice soothes.
9. Satan Is My Master (Ben Folds Five) - Hilarious outtake from a live show.
10. The Devil Went Down to Georgia (The Charlie Daniels Band) - I remember this song made me think that country music was alright. There's a plot pitting good vs. evil in a fiddle duel for the ages. What more could you ask for?
11. Bus to Beelzebug (Soul Coughing)* - Takes me back to my college days. Apparently Beelzebug/Beelzebub is Satan in mosquito-form. He flies through your window at 3 in the morning to keep you awake and to make your life a living Hell...or at least an awake one.
Side B
12. Devil's Haircut (Beck) - Radio hit from Beck's best album (unless you prefer Sea Change or One Foot in the Grave)
13. Devil In The Details (Bright Eyes) - A Bright Eyes' filler that reminds me of a lot of the stuff the Flaming Lips are doing at the present.
14. White Devil's Dream (Quasi) - I looked and looked for some hip-hop in my collection that had a white devil reference in the title, but I was unsuccessful. Thank God for Portland liberals.
15. Tribute (Tenacious D) - If the song they actually played for the devil is half as good as this tribute, it would be....half as good.
16. Monkey Gone To Heaven (Pixies) - Rarely do you hear a singer scream that "the devil is 6" tree straight times that is not featured at Ozzfest. (Actually, I think Black Francis screams it five times, but who's counting?)
17. A Fable With No Moral (Quasi) - The second Quasi track is one of my all-time favorites. He sells his soul to pay the rent? Why didn't he just go to one of those check-cashing places?
18. In The Devil's Territory (Sufjan Stevens) - A reference to the devil from the most Christian of the group.
19. Devil's New (Sparklehorse) - Filler.
20. Hell Is Chrome (Wilco) - Old-timey and raggedy, this Wilco track takes the band to their most Beatle-esque.
21. Lucifer (Jay-Z)* - Head bobbing galore! Makes me feel so gangsta'!

*cassette version only

Notice that there are two extra tracks on the cassette. This goes to show that the cassette tape is the superior format in the mix tape world.

I encourage anyone to post some mix tape ideas on my blog or at Good magazine. There are several other organizations/services out there for the mix tape-incline. I just haven't tried any of them yet. Although, today I did find Mixtape Collective this morning thanks to a successful Google search.

Whatever. Stay out of the stifling, Al Gore-predicted-global-warming heat and make a mix today. Let me know what you came up with

Mixed Tapes 'n Tapes

I am nearly finished with Rob Sheffield's excellent memoir Love Is a Mixed Tape and am reminded of what a lost art the mixed tape, now mixed CD actually is. In celebration of Sheffield's book, Good (a magazine for do-gooders) is asking its readers (not sure if I qualify yet) to make mixed tapes (or CD's) for their pages. While many have submitted online track lists, I am opting to create my own mix to send via the snail mail.

I've been contemplating a mix featuring satanic songs for awhile now. Ever since Clap Your Hands Say Yeah released Some Loud Thunder featuring "Satan Said Dance", I have had this idea for a devilish mix. As I toyed around the idea, I realized that this is a difficult task for someone who owns no death metal (unless you count Caustic Resin), so I decided to split the mix with songs about God/Jesus/angels of which I have plenty.

Then, along came some dude named Tod who made a "Of God and the Devil" mix. The jerk beat me to the punch. (God I hate the internets!) My only recourse was to return to my original idea of creating the first mixed tape of satanic songs that includes absolutely no death metal or Ozzie Osbourne (solo or Black Sabbath material). It's been a challenge, but I think it's been worth it.

Right now there is only a list of songs totaling just over an hour on my iTunes, but I have plans to expand. First, I plan to create some killer packaging with the title "The Devil Made Me Do It...Dance That Is". Second, I will provide two formats, yes two! The good editors at Good will receive both a mixed CD and cassette tape. Third, since the tape has more space than the CD, it will include hidden tracks to be named later.

All this effort should afford me 2 of my fifteen minutes of fame. (I already earned one minute in the mid-nineties for a letter to the editor published in the free newsertainment mag in Columbus, The Other Paper complaining about fat kids crowd-surfing at a They Might Be Giants show and a second minute for dancing at a legal "rave" on the eleven o'clock news.) This fame will allow me to spread the word about the comoprozac franchise to the masses...or at least a few do-gooders who like to read/buy over-priced magazines about consuming less. Whatever.

"The track list?" you're wondering. Well, I can't reveal all the details yet. I can promise that the CYHSY track will make the cut, and there will be a special appearance by a certain devil in a fiddle match down south, but that's all I'm saying right now. Like I stated before, it's still in the works.

In related news...At the suggestion of a friend, I am cataloging our music collection. I've made it through the first binder (The Afghan Whigs to Bob Dylan), and we're already past the 200 mark. Is that ridiculous? I figure that I will inquire about insuring my collection, because you just don't replace the money and time I've spent with this music. I'll leave periodic updates of my progress (on both projects) in future posts.

The Year in Music...So Far

2007 has already been extremely busy with many new releases in the first third of the year. Here's my list of the early highlights...

The Shins released their third proper, Wincing the Night Away. While I wasn't originally thrilled with this album, too somber, seeing them in concert helped me "get" this album. By juxtaposing Wincing's tracks with their previous works, I was able to see where this record fits in the catalog. The songs really translated live. Although this album might only be the third best Shins' album, it's still much better than 99% of the releases put out by the record industry every year.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah released their much anticipated follow up to 2005's self-titled debut, Some Loud Thunder. Although they were a little heavy with the bass (ruining the opening track), the album defies all sophomore jinx theories. The album moves away from sounding too much like the Talking Heads...but not too far away. I am really looking forward to seeing these guys in May for the first time.

Bright Eyes has put out two solid releases so far. The first was the preview EP for the album Cassadaga. Four Winds is highlighted by the great title track and the most haunting BE song ever, a duet with M Ward called "Smoke Without Fire". The LP is no slouch either. Those more accustomed to Conor Oberst tearing himself to shreds will struggle with the outward lens he utilizes in this release. but I believe that is short-sighted. His music is simply maturing. This work is a transition to a more mature, not-so-emo Bright Eyes. I, for one, welcome this change.

One of my all-time favorite bands, Modest Mouse, released their fifth full-length, the classically Isaac Brock titled We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. After losing their way since signing to a major label, it seems that Modest Mouse is moving in the right direction once again. You could feel this transition (much like the Bright Eyes' movement) as their last two releases seemed to stray from what made Brock's early work stick out in the indie world. He is finally finding a way to balance the Modest Mouse sound with the resources a major label offers. I credit this largely to Johnny Marr's influence. The former Smiths' guitarist seems to be the connection Modest Mouse needed between indie rock eccentricities and major label success. The result is the best Modest Mouse record in ten years and a spot atop the Billboard charts.

My new indie darling, Beirut, released an EP this winter. Lon Gisland shows that Beirut is more than a kitschy indie fad. The highpoint of the release is the more organic take on "Scenic World" that puts away the keyboards for a more Beirut-esque sound. This EP - like most EP's - just gets me excited for the next full-length due later this year.

Finally, I am able to listen to all of The Arcade Fire's Neon Bible. I thought that I was smart when I pre-ordered this release on vinyl accompanied by an MP3 code. Well, the label's manufacturing screwed up the pressing, delaying my shipment by two months. Anyway, just last night some friends loaned me their CD which I promptly saved onto my iTunes. In fact, right now is my first listen. It's a pretty amazing album. The first four songs might be the best first four songs I've ever heard on an album! The record levels off in the middle - much like the band's other releases - but these songs are still good songs. I just love the urgency and passion in the Arcade Fire. They have recaptured the idealism of early rock 'n' roll mixed with the importance of a John Hughes' film to a thirteen year old while speaking to issues that are important to thirty-somethings that struggle with the transition from young liberal to adulthood...or something. God, I love this band!

I'm still looking forward to several releases (or possible releases) due out this year. The White Stripes, Stephen Malkmus, Iron & Wine, and Wilco have much-anticipated records coming out later this year. I'm hopeful that Sufjan Stevens will put out at least one more state album. Last word was that he has Oregon and New Jersey in the works. The new Feist album even looks/sounds very enticing. I really like her new American Apparel-meets-The Gap ad video. It also looks like Pavement will re-issue another album...surprise, surprise. I'll still buy even though I have the original. 2007's off to a fine start...musically.

Clap Your Hands Everybody!

I'm currently listening to the new Clap Your Hands' release via their MySpace site. So, I'll try to comment as it goes...

First of all, I could not get the first track (Some Loud Thunder) to download, but beyond that, it's working. The second track sounds like a young Dylan singing with the Velvet Underground with production by the Flaming Lips and a little Phil Spector mixed in. It's really quite dramatic and full. The chorus certainly sounds like classic Clap Your Hands with Alec Ounsworth crooning over-top.

The third track has a repetitive guitar whine and steady bass line that makes you want to dream. It's very dreamy with a feel-good chorus; very sing-songy. The chorus then unravels into overdubs of the group's voices in sort of an indie-doo-wop moment. Phil Spector comes to mind again when the song begins to rock out down the stretch. This song feels. I get a real early Who or Stones or Beatles feel. The production reminds me a lot of what the Shins did on their first record only with more of everything.

I'm having trouble with several of the tracks playing, so I've skipped down to #7 "Goodbye to Mother and the Cove." It seems to be instrumental. There's a very repetitive electric piano or something line with some noodly guitar...oh wait, there's Alec. He breaks in with a long "She smiles, then she laughs and then..." It's that soothing mumbling he does so well. This is a real head-bobber with a Thom Yorke-like vocal performance and story. The bridge is interesting with organ notes over guitar. Alec breaks in with a desperate plea over marching drums. All the while, the keyboards continue. Then, the overdubs of Alec and others with a sweet, sweet melody. This song ends well. Wow!

I'm jumping around, looking for tracks that work. #8 (Arm and Hammer) starts with the familiar hiss of a 4-track machine. This has got to be the most low-fi track I've heard these guys do. It doesn't sound like them at all, but it takes me back 12 years. Mostly acoustic guitar with some angry punk singing. I did not expect this track.

Next is "Yankee Go Home". It's a down-tempo story-telling showstopper. It has a very show tune feel. The chorus rocks so theatrically. Again, organs carry the middle of the song. A nice understated Pavement/Television guitar solo fits in and Alec comes back with his spooky growl. This is the darkest one yet...of course, I haven't heard half the tracks. I'm liking the freak outs around the chorus of "Yankee Go, Yankee Go...Hoooome...(something) Get used to it, Get used to it..." If the last record was their ode to Talking Heads, this song makes me think Television. The dramatic drumming and repeated chorus leading down the homestretch hollers, "extended jam opportunity!"

I've had no luck trying to listen to the other tracks. I guess I'll just have to wait for my copy to come in the mail. I'm really looking forward to "Satan Said Dance."

Oh wait...that Satan song is playing. It's loaded with noise and fast. I'll have to stop there. Must go pick up partner from work. Either way, I'm excited for this record. Sorry if I've lost anyone.

The track listing is as follows...
1. Some Loud Thunder
2. Emily Jean Stock
3. Mama, Won't You Keep Them Castles in the Air and Burning?
4. Love Song No.7
5. Satan Said Dance
6. Upon Encountering the Crippled Elephant
7. Goodbye to Mother and the Cove
8. Arm and Hammer
9. Yankee Go Home
10. Underwater (You and Me)
11. Five Easy Pieces